Ex-US Attorney General William Barr Calls China 'Biggest Threat' to America
© AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Subscribe
The former official has repeatedly criticised the actions of China’s authorities, calling Beijing the most "powerful violator of human rights". Barr also condemned US tech companies for continuing doing business with China, describing their behaviour as "kowtowing".
Former US Attorney General William Barr has called China the "biggest threat" to the United States. Speaking on Fox News about his new memoir "One Damn Thing After Another", the Republican said that Beijing is not only a military adversary, but also poses a technological threat.
"The Chinese have a comprehensive, highly aggressive plan to take control of all of the key technologies of the future, such as 5G communications, robotics, artificial intelligence – all of the technologies that are going to be pivotal in the years to come", he said, adding that Beijing had achieved success in technology by allegedly stealing other nations' secrets
The ex-attorney general emphasised that in its efforts to combat the purported threat from China, the Biden administration needs to focus on the fact that the US' position as a technological leader makes the country prosperous and “creates all the opportunity for future generations and provides for our security".
His comments come amid the release of a US intelligence report on global threats. The annual assessment mentions Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Commenting on China, the Intelligence Community said Washington and its allies would face "an increasingly complex and interconnected global security environment marked by the growing specter of great power competition and conflict, while collective, transnational threats to all nations and actors compete for our attention and finite resources".
Relations between the two nations have been tense in recent years due to disagreements over a number of issues, including trade, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, human rights in Xinjiang, the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, and the origin of the coronavirus pandemic.
Beijing and Washington have also locked horns over cybersecurity, with the US accusing China of carrying out a global espionage programme via tech giants such as Huawei and TikTok. Chinese authorities have rejected the accusations, which they described as smears and political suppression.
His comments come amid the release of a US intelligence report on global threats. The annual assessment mentions Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Commenting on China, the Intelligence Community said Washington and its allies would face "an increasingly complex and interconnected global security environment marked by the growing specter of great power competition and conflict, while collective, transnational threats to all nations and actors compete for our attention and finite resources".
Relations between the two nations have been tense in recent years due to disagreements over a number of issues, including trade, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, human rights in Xinjiang, the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, and the origin of the coronavirus pandemic.
Beijing and Washington have also locked horns over cybersecurity, with the US accusing China of carrying out a global espionage programme via tech giants such as Huawei and TikTok. Chinese authorities have rejected the accusations, which they described as smears and political suppression.
