On Thursday (April 18), the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, stated that the competition between the United States and China involves many different fields. He also mentioned that he believes Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has genuine ambitions to control Taiwan.
Burns attended an event at the Bush Center Leadership Forum on Thursday. During the Q&A session, he mentioned that the US-China competition is broad, spanning across various areas including space, technology, and cyber security.
Furthermore, Burns stated that he believes Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping “is committed in his political career to control Taiwan”.
“This does not mean that he plans to invade tomorrow, next month, or next year, but it means we must take this ambition very seriously,” he said.
Burns warned that China and Russia are now “closer together than at any time in my memory.” He added that this deepening partnership poses a “significant challenge” to the United States.
He also said that the cross-border repression phenomenon where authoritarian states like China (CCP), Russia, and Iran “kill or intimidate” activists abroad is a major issue.
“This is an increasingly serious challenge, and as an intelligence agency, we take this challenge very seriously,” Burns said.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) released a threat assessment report last week stating that the Chinese military “has called for using space, cyber actions, and electronic warfare as weapons to cripple opponent’s information systems during conflicts”.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson warned during a congressional hearing on Wednesday that Beijing is enhancing its space capabilities and using civilian projects to disguise military objectives.
“Beijing has taken extraordinary steps over the past decade, but they are very, very secretive about it,” Nelson said.
Nelson added: “We believe many of their so-called civilian space projects are military projects.”
However, Nelson expressed his belief that the U.S. will not lose its “global preeminence in space exploration.”
“But you have to be realistic,” he added. “Beijing is really investing a lot in this, and their budget has a lot of room for growth.”
Nelson said: “I think we best not take this lightly.”
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said on Thursday that the Chinese government began preparing for cyber attacks over a decade ago and has been attempting to penetrate critical U.S. infrastructure.
He made these remarks at a security conference at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wray said that Chinese entities use hacking techniques to infiltrate systems and lie in wait for attacks, a tactic known as “living off the land,” which is part of Beijing’s long-term strategy.
“The People’s Republic of China (CCP) has made clear in its efforts to dominate the world stage that it views every sector that keeps our society running as a fair game target,” he said.