The director of the FBI has said that acts of espionage and theft by China’s government pose the “greatest long-term threat” to the future of the US.
Speaking to the Hudson Institute in Washington, Christopher Wray described a multi-pronged disruption campaign. He said China had begun targeting Chinese nationals living abroad, coercing their return, and was working to compromise US coronavirus research.
“The stakes could not be higher,” Mr Wray said. “China is engaged in a whole-of-state effort to become the world’s only superpower by any means necessary,” he added.
In a nearly hour-long speech on Tuesday, the FBI director outlined a stark picture of Chinese interference, a far-reaching campaign of economic espionage, data and monetary theft and illegal political activities, using bribery and blackmail to influence US policy.
