China greatest threat to freedom since World War II, says US intel chief

China is the greatest global threat to democracy and freedom since the end of World War II and a warning that a bipartisan response is needed in the US to counter its influence, John Ratcliffe said

China is the greatest global threat to democracy and freedom since the end of World War II and warning that a bipartisan response is needed in the US to counter Beijing's growing influence, according to the US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe.

Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe said, "If I could communicate one thing to the American people from this unique vantage point, it is that 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."

Ratcliffe pointed to intelligence affirmed that China's ultimate goal is global economic, military and technological domination, warning that a bipartisan response in the US is needed to deal with Beijing's growing influence.

 

"China not only inflicts USD 500-billion worth of economic damage to the United States through intellectual property theft but uses the stolen technology to supplant US businesses across the world," Ratcliffe said.

In a bid to counter the security threat posed by China, the US intelligence community is shifting resources - to the tune of USD 85 billion, besides embarking on a culture shift with previous generations, he said.

Further slamming the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Ratcliffe wrote in WSJ that "China intends to dominate the US and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically. Many of China's major public initiatives and prominent companies offer only a layer of camouflage to the activities of the Chinese Communist Party."

Citing examples of several arrests made by the FBI in recent times, the Intelligence Chief said, "China robs US companies of their intellectual property, replicates the technology, and then replaces the US firms in the global marketplace."

The State Department under Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have pursued staunch policy measures against the Chinese government amid the growing tension between the two nations over several issues including trade, Covid-19, and China's military aggression, CNN reported.

The US Intelligence Chief remark comes as the outgoing Donald Trump administration on Thursday reduced the US visitor visas validity period for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and their family members from ten years to one month.

A State Department official said in a statement to CNN on Thursday that "This is in keeping with our ongoing policy, regulatory, and law-enforcement action across the US Government to protect our nation from the CCP's malign influence."

The state department official further alleged that CCP "sends agents to the United States to unabashedly monitor, threaten, and report on Chinese nationals and Chinese-American groups engaging in legal, honest, and open activities that are protected under freedom of speech and freedom of assembly clauses."

"For decades we allowed the CCP free and unfettered access to US institutions and businesses while these same privileges were never extended freely to US citizens in China. Interaction with free societies, economies, and access to Western technologies certainly helped China develop, while the CCP only doubled down on Marxist-Leninism and hostility to the free world," the spokesperson said.

This move is among the series of actions taken by the Trump administration, setting a tone for the US President-elect Joe Biden's upcoming term.