The US Federal Police (FBI) consider the Chinese government’s acts of espionage and continuous usurpation of information to pose the greatest long-term threat to the future of the United States.
In an intervention at the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based research unit, FBI Director Christopher Wray called China “the greatest long-term threat to information and intellectual property and economic vitality” in the United States.
The official then said that the FBI has more than 2,000 open investigations that are linked to the Chinese government.
Cited by the US press, Wray said Chinese hackers moved quickly to attack US pharmaceutical and research institutions. This is to try to usurp information on the development of vaccines and treatments for covid-19.
The FBI official described a powerful Beijing-orchestrated campaign for economic espionage, theft of data and money and illegal political activities. In order to use bribery and blackmail to influence US domestic politics.
“The FBI opens a new China-related counter-intelligence case every 10 hours,” said Wray.
The FBI director also accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of leading a program called “Fox Hunt”. Thus, this would be aimed at intimidating Chinese citizens living abroad, who are seen as threats by the Beijing government.
“We are talking about political rivals, dissidents and critics who are looking to expose the extensive human rights violations in China,” he said.
“China is involved in an effort that involves the entire state to become the only superpower in the world, using all means,” he added.
In recent years, Washington has come to define China as its “main threat”, betting on a strategy to contain Chinese ambitions, which has already resulted in a commercial and technological war and disputes over influence in East Asia.
