Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is urging President-elect Joe Biden to “be honest” about what he says is the greatest national security threat facing the United States.
In an interview with Fox News, Ratcliffe said he hopes Biden will “acknowledge” that China is the “greatest national security threat that we face.”
“The intelligence is so clear that China is our greatest threat,” he said, adding, “People that equate other things, or say, oh, you know, Russia is a greater threat, they are politicizing intelligence.”
“I am hoping now that the election is over, now that people have voted, and if there is a Biden administration, that they will get past politicizing intelligence and be honest about China and acknowledge that China, and China alone is the greatest national security threat that we face.”
He went on to claim that China’s goal is “to dominate economically, militarily and technologically, and is the only country capable of challenging American supremacy across the board.”
Specifically, he said China is trying to gain the upper hand “militarily, economically” and with “supply chain issues, foreign investment, technologically, cyber issues, cyber warfare, 5G, telecommunications.”
“China is in all of those, and they are the only country to be in that space and the only country that threatens America supremacy,” he added.
In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Ratcliffe said China is targeting members of Congress with influence campaigns at six times the rate of Russia to try to ensure that lawmakers pass policies favorable to China.
He also said Chinese leaders are “preparing for an open-ended period of confrontation with the U.S.”
“Washington should also be prepared. Leaders must work across partisan divides to understand the threat, speak about it openly, and take action to address it,” he added.
Biden has expressed his belief that the international community should work together to counter China’s influence.
“We need to be aligned with the other democracies, another 25 percent or more so that we can set the rules of the road instead of having China and others dictate outcomes because they are the only game in town,” he said during a press conference last month.
He has also said he would not move to immediately end President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China, “I’m not going to make any immediate moves, and the same applies to the tariffs.”
“I’m not going to prejudice my options,” he added.
