torsdag 15. april 2021

FBI opens a new investigation into China 'every 10 hours,' bureau director says

The FBI has more than 2,000 investigations that tie back to the Chinese government and is opening a new one "every 10 hours," the bureau's director told the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. In his testimony, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that no other country represented more of a threat to the US' economic security and democratic ideals than China, adding that its ability to influence American institutions was "deep and wide and persistent."

Wray's comments come amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing across a range of fronts, including alleged human rights abuses in China's western region of Xinjiang and issues related to Taiwan and Hong Kong. US Director for National Intelligence Avril Haines and CIA Director William Burns spoke alongside Wray at the hearing Wednesday, the first group public testimony of the nation's intelligence leaders before the US Congress since 2019.