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WASHINGTON – The Chinese Communist government is carrying out a covert operation to influence members of Congress to support pro-Beijing policies, the director of national intelligence said Thursday.
In an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal, DNI boss John Ratcliffe warned that Chinese officials were engaged in a “massive influence campaign” that targeted US lawmakers with six times the frequency of Russia and 12 times that of Iran.
“This year, China has embarked on a massive influence campaign that has notably targeted several dozen members of Congress and congressional assistants,” Ratcliffe wrote.
The intelligence chief warned of a scenario in which Chinese-owned manufacturing facilities employing thousands of Americans could influence union leaders to turn against lawmakers supporting disadvantageous policies – or risk losing their jobs .
“The union leader contacts his MP and tells her that his members will not support his re-election without a change of position. He thinks he’s protecting his members, but at that point he’s nominating China, and the MP is influenced by China whether she realizes it or not, ”Ratcliffe wrote.
“Our intelligence shows that Beijing regularly leads this type of influence operation in the United States,” he continued. “To deal with these threats and more, I shifted resources into the $ 85 billion annual intelligence budget to put more emphasis on China.”
The warnings came as part of a blunt editorial describing the communist nation as the greatest threat to US national security.
Ratcliffe said Beijing is preparing “for an open period of confrontation with the United States. Washington should also be prepared.”
In response, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the comments “ridiculous”, adding that “in the eyes of some Americans there is only hatred, division and confrontation.”
Relations between the two countries reached a level of freezing not seen in decades after the Trump administration blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic and pledged to hold Beijing accountable.
According to various reports, Trump is considering a crackdown on China before leaving the Oval Office on January 20, making it difficult for successor Joe Biden to reverse the harsh approach.
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