US Senators say China poses greatest threat to Washington's National Security

Washington DC [US], December 5 (ANI): US Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner on Friday reiterated the remarks made by the country's Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe, saying that China is now the greatest national security threat the United States faces.
In a joint statement on Friday, the senators said, "We agree with DNI Ratcliffe that China poses the greatest national security threat to the United States," the senators said. "Our intelligence is clear: the Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to exert its global dominance."
The senators said China had deliberately infiltrated US society using every instrument of influence available to accelerate their rise at the expense of the United States.
"Our democratic values are threatened by China's attempts to supplant American leadership and remake the international community in their image. The Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian leaders seek to threaten our free speech, politics, technology, economy, military, and even our drive to counter the COVID-19 pandemic," the senators said.
This statement by the US Senators comes after John Ratcliffe wrote in an opinion piece The Wall Street Journal that, "If I could communicate one thing to the American people from this unique vantage point, it is that the People's Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since World War II."
Ratcliffe pointed to intelligence affirmed that China's ultimate goal is global economic, military and technological domination, warning that a bipartisan response in the US is needed to deal with Beijing's growing influence.
"China not only inflicts USD 500-billion worth of economic damage to the United States through intellectual property theft but uses the stolen technology to supplant US businesses across the world," Ratcliffe said.
Further slamming the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Ratcliffe wrote in WSJ that "China intends to dominate the US and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically. Many of China's major public initiatives and prominent companies offer only a layer of camouflage to the activities of the Chinese Communist Party."
The State Department under Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have pursued staunch policy measures against the Chinese government amid the growing tensions between the two nations over several issues including trade, Covid-19, and China's military aggression.
On Friday, the US State Department imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials, accusing them of using coercion and intimidation tactics to suppress freedom of expression, against those who oppose Beijing's policies.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement said that "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long sought to spread Marxist-Leninist ideology and exert its influence all over the world. The CCP's United Front Work Department funds and supports overseas organizations to spread propaganda and coerces and bullies those who would oppose Beijing's policies."
On Thursday, Donald Trump's administration had reduced the US visitor visa validity period for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials and their family members from ten years to one month.
A State Department official had told CNN that "This is in keeping with our ongoing policy, regulatory, and law-enforcement action across the US Government to protect our nation from the CCP's malign influence."
These moves are among the series of actions taken by the Trump administration, setting a tone for the US President-elect Joe Biden's upcoming term. (ANI)