A US intelligence official warns of a confrontation with China that is more severe than the “world war”

The Trump administration’s top intelligence official issued a blatant warning that China is preparing for a “period of open confrontation with the United States,” calling on political parties (Democrats and Republicans) to take stronger measures to face “the greatest threat to America and democracy in the world” since World War II. According to.
In an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal, John Ratcliffe, the director of US National Intelligence, accused China of targeting dozens of members of Congress and their advisers in a massive influence campaign this year, while the details The exact details of this campaign of influence remain top secret, warning of intentions. China carries out possible military action in Asia. Others pointed to unprecedented efforts to influence the incoming Biden administration.
Ratcliffe’s article comes at a time when the Trump administration has finally taken many concrete steps against Beijing, as it drastically reduced the issuance of entry visas to the United States for members of the Chinese Communist Party and revealed new sanctions on Chinese companies, and the Trump administration also ordered China to close its consulate in Houston in earlier this year, due to allegations that Chinese diplomats at the site were engaging in espionage activities against the country.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defined the Chinese Communist Party as “the central threat to the modern era, whose goal is to stop freedom in the world.”
Ratcliffe wrote: “This generation will be judged on its resistance to China’s efforts to reshape the world, in accordance with its own image and to replace the United States as the dominant superpower … and our intelligence is clear, we must act. and we must have an answer, as Beijing is preparing for a period of confrontation “Open with the United States, Washington must be prepared and leaders must work across party divisions to understand the threat, speak about it openly and take real action to counter it. “
Ratcliffe believes that the right time may have passed to persuade allies to voluntarily join the United States in presenting a united front when it comes to fifth-generation networks, indicating that the situation requires the Trump administration to take an approach. more solid.
He added: “China’s efforts to control 5G technology will only increase Beijing’s chances of gathering intelligence, disrupting communications, and threatening user privacy around the world. I have personally told US allies that the use of of this Chinese-owned technology will severely limit the ability of the United States to share vital intelligence information with them.
Ratcliffe also accused Chinese intelligence services of introducing vulnerabilities in technology provided by major Chinese tech companies such as Huawei. He said that allies using Chinese technology would not share US intelligence with them, and that US intelligence information showed that China had conducted “human tests” on military forces with the aim of developing soldiers to have “biologically enhanced capabilities. “.
He said China has engaged in a “massive influence campaign” targeting members of the United States Congress and their employees by encouraging unions at big companies to tell local politicians to take a softer stance toward China or face the loss of votes of union members.
He accused China of offering the world a choice between two completely opposite ideologies, as Chinese leaders seek to subordinate individual rights to the will of the Communist Party, exercise government control over companies, violate the privacy and freedom of their members. citizens with authoritarian power and become a guardian state, and stressed that Beijing regularly conducts influence operations in the United States. .
He said: “I have informed the intelligence committees in the House and Senate that China is targeting members of Congress at a rate of six times, against the efforts of Russia and Iran.”
He reported that China was involved in some form of economic espionage, which he described as “theft, duplication and replacement,” giving an example of a Chinese wind turbine company that was convicted in the United States for stealing from an American competitor before going out to the worldwide sale, so the American company lost share value and laid off its employees.
He noted that US $ 500 billion worth of intellectual property is stolen every year, as arrests by the FBI of Chinese citizens for stealing investigations have become frequent, adding that China was also paying the chief $ 50,000 a month. from the Harvard University chemistry department until his arrest earlier this year. .
US sources familiar with Biden’s foreign policy plans told CNN that the president-elect is well aware of the challenge posed by Beijing, but believes that Trump’s approach, especially taking action without consulting allies, has undermined the ultimate goal of compete with China, which is what senior Democrats in Congress urged members of Biden’s team, including their options for someone else to replace Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence, as they take a tough stance on China, albeit with a different approach than the Trump administration.
Joe Biden had previously said that there are areas of interest for the United States in working with China, including issues of climate change and the North Korean crisis, but his advisers emphasize that he will work closely with allies to present a united front in those issues, as well as issues like technology, and the conflict with Huawei, the theft of intellectual property, China’s expansion into Asian waters, and its moves to crush democracy in Hong Kong.
Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris are now receiving the same secret intelligence reports as President Donald Trump, which means they have access to a full range of basic information about China’s actions, but at the same time Biden and Harris can only observe from the sidelines. Until they are sworn in and inherit the repercussions of whatever action the Trump administration takes between now and inauguration day.