US intelligence head says China is America’s ‘greatest threat’ in rare public warning
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Top US government officials issued stark warnings about China on Thursday, with the head of Washington’s intelligence community calling China America’s “greatest threat” and the Pentagon’s top general saying that the US must boost its technological prowess to defend against Beijing’s efforts to “dominate” US military forces.
“I am entrusted with access to more intelligence than any member of the US government other than the president,” Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, said in an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal, a rare public warning from his office.
“The People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since World War II.
“Beijing intends to dominate the US and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically,” Ratcliffe added. “Many of China’s major public initiatives and prominent companies offer only a layer of camouflage to the activities of the Chinese Communist Party.”
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Using similar language at the US Naval Institute‘s online Defense Forum to characterise the military threat that China poses, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley said the country “would like to not only match us but exceed us, dominate us, be able to beat us in armed conflict by mid-century”.