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“America will have a great international friendship and sell weapons to a reformed China in the future”, according to US defence technology entrepreneur Palmer Luckey.
The founder of US defence technology innovator Anduril Industries made the comments during a Tokyo Talk interview conducted in Akihabara by the US embassy in Tokyo and consulates in Japan on 22 December last year.
“What the United States is doing and I think what Japan is doing is trying to build a set of technologies, political positions and movements that deter violence,” Luckey said during the interview.
“The idea is that if the United States, Japan, and the rest of our allies and partners in the region, if we do the right things, we can have (People’s Republic of China leader) Xi Jinping wake up tomorrow and say, ‘Not today. I’m not going to make the move today.’
“We need to make sure that he keeps saying that tomorrow, the next day, the next year and next decade.
“China is opening up Pandora’s box. They don’t just believe that they deserve to have Taiwan. They want the Philippines. They want Korea. They want Japan. They want Vietnam.
“It’s important that we stop that in its tracks and hopefully make them a part of the international community on some timeline (in the future) … I’m hoping that someday we’re able to sell weapons to China.
“I know that sounds crazy when you look at the current geopolitical position but look where we’re standing (in Tokyo).
“We fought a world war with Japan. Inside of one generation; there are people in Japan and the United States still living who fought each other to the death.
“Now they’re one of our strongest trade partners, military partners and cultural partners. I don’t think there’s any reason that you can’t imagine the same thing happening for a reformed China. And if they can do that, I hope that we can be really great friends with them.
“That’s the future … I think the future is hopefully that all the superpowers get along and people stop engaging in expansionist military action.”
Japan and America align their defence strategy
Anduril Industries has previously announced an official expansion into Japan with the opening of an official office in Tokyo late last year. The expansion included an office opening, increase in the on-the-ground team and appointment of Patrick Hollen as head of Anduril Japan.
The expansion is timed with a broader defensive outlined from the Japanese government, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi indicated her intentions for a significant modernisation of Japan’s defence posture, culminating in a new five-year plan beginning in 2027.
“Anduril is a defence products company that uses its own money to develop defence products and defence technology that is used to protect America, America’s allies and America’s partners,” Luckey said during the Tokyo Talk in Akihabara.
“The reason I started this company is because I realised the United States was falling behind in a lot of critical technology areas and we’re seeing a lot of our best talent going to work on things that might make money, but they don’t make a difference.
“We’re opening up an engineering and manufacturing office here in Japan because we’re going to be doing a lot more work in Japan, not just using Japanese components, but building weapon systems in Japan.
“The United States and Japan have a very, very close relationship, not just culturally or economically, but also militarily. It’s really important that the United States and Japan continue to share military technology and that we use a lot of the same weapon systems.
“You don’t want Japan to have completely different missile technology than the United States. You don’t want the United States to have completely different radar systems than Japan has. If they’re using the same technology, then it’s easier to train together. It’s easier to fight together. It’s easier to win together.
“We certainly form a much stronger deterrent block than if we’re using totally fractured different technology from each other.”
PRC aspirations for the new year
Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously spoken of the country’s future aspirations during the 2026 New Year message, published in full by the People’s Republic of China Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 31 December 2025.
“The year 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan. A successful venture should start with a good plan and with clear goals set,” he said.
“We should focus on our goals and tasks, boost confidence, and build momentum to press ahead.
“We should take solid steps to promote high-quality development, further deepen reform and opening up across the board, deliver prosperity for all, and write a new chapter in the story of China’s miracle.
“The dream lofty, the journey long; bold strides will get us there. Let us charge ahead like horses with courage, vitality, and energy, fight for our dreams and our happiness, and turn our great vision into beautiful realities.
“The world today is undergoing both changes and turbulence, and some regions are still engulfed in war … We should unswervingly implement the policy of One Country, Two Systems, and support Hong Kong and Macao in better integrating into the overall development of our country and maintaining long-term prosperity and stability.
“We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a bond of blood and kinship. The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.”
