President Trump’s new pick for national security adviser John Bolton said China has taken advantage of the United States for years and he believes the decision to impose tariffs on the country could be a “little shock therapy.”

“For far too long China has taken advantage of its place in the world … the trade arrangements it has with the United States and other countries,” Bolton told AM 970 host John Catsimatidis during an interview that aired Sunday morning.

“The United States lives by these agreements,” he said. “All we’re asking for here is for the Chinese to do the same. So I think this could be a little shock therapy, get their attention, and hopefully it’ll have a good impact.”

The president last Thursday announced that his administration would put up to $60 billion in tariffs on China over unfair trade practices that cost the US billions.

Trump said the tariffs were intended to stop China’s theft of US intellectual property.

“We have a tremendous intellectual property theft problem,” Trump said announcing the penalties at the White House. “It’s going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation.”

China, in retaliation, imposed its own tariffs on $3 billion worth of US imports, sparking fears of a trade war between the two countries.

But Bolton shrugged off such concerns.

“I don’t think anybody is looking to have a trade war,” he said.

Trump named Bolton, a war hawk and former US ambassador to the United Nations for President George W. Bush, to replace H.R. McMaster last Thursday.

Bolton is Trump’s third national security adviser since taking office in January 2017.

Former general Michael Kelly resigned in February 2017 after reports revealed he communicated with Russian officials and kept White House officials out of the loop.