he general in charge of keeping the United States Marine Corps sustained in a fight dismisses the notion that China poses a near-peer threat to the U.S. It's far more serious and will make the currently paused conflict with Iran pale by comparison should the two superpowers come to blows, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka, the USMC Deputy Commandant for Installations and Logistics. "There is no threat that looms larger than the People's Republic of China," Sklenka said during the 2026 Modern Day Marine Expo in Washington, D.C. "Don't listen to this garbage about them being a near peer. They're a peer because they rival us in nearly every single measure of national influence."