Zhu Chenghu (朱成虎, born 1952, in Dangtu, Anhui, China) was the dean of the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army.
At an event organized by the Better Hong Kong Foundation in July 2005, Zhu told Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Gittings, in the context of a Sino-U.S. military conflict over Taiwan, "if the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," and that "we [...] will prepare ourselves for the destruction of all of the cities east of Xi'an.
"[1][2] Gittings later wrote, "Almost too stunned to respond, I offered Gen. Zhu a chance to back down—or at least qualify the circumstances under which China would unleash its nuclear missiles against 'hundreds of, or two hundreds' of American cities.
No, the general replied, a nuclear response would be justified even if it was just a conventional attack on a Chinese aircraft or warship—something very likely if Washington honored its commitment to help defend Taiwan against an invasion by Beijing.
Zhu is the first Chinese high-ranking military official in the past ten years to have said that China is likely to use nuclear weapons against the United States if the need arises.