FBI Director Christopher Wray recently issued another stark warning about the Chinese government's persistent goal to steal American innovation and more. In a series of statements made to London business leaders on July 6, Wray recognized that the Chinese government "poses the biggest long-term threat to [the] economic and national security [of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European allies.]"
Over the course of several days, Wray joined Ken McCallum, the director general of Britain's MI5 – the domestic intelligence agency of the United Kingdom – in a first-ever joint appearance between the two officials.
American Family News spoke to David Sauer about the Chinese regime's expanding influence. Sauer is a retired senior CIA officer who served as chief of station and deputy chief of station in multiple overseas command positions in East Asia and South Asia.
"Without question," the former CIA officer says, "[Wray's statements are] true because of the size and rapid growth of the Chinese economy" – which, he warns, could one day outpace that of the United States. "Their manufacturing capacity already dwarfs ours," he adds.
Where are the policymakers?
Sauer agrees with the FBI director that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is "a huge long-term threat" to the U.S. Not only could Beijing muster an advantage to control supply chains, Sauer is also particularly concerned about the regime's ability to rapidly build up its military forces in areas where the United States may not be capable. So, he's worried that constant threats from the Chinese regime could be falling on deaf ears.
"[Wray has] made this same type of speech about China's threat to the United States almost every six months," he notes.
In light of those repeated warnings, he argues America's policymakers "should be more aggressively assisting the whole of the United States, [including] the business community, academia, and state and local governments, to take on the threat." And those policies, he says, must take definite measures to thwart the Chinese regime's activities that are harming America's national security and economic prosperity.
In a separate interview with AFN, national defense analyst Bob Maginnis with Family Research Council says the White House needs to take seriously the FBI director's warning.
"The fact that Wray is articulating now [what I think is] overwhelming evidence suggests that the Chinese are indeed at war with us," Maginnis argues. "We've been incredibly naïve. If we're going to survive in the future world, we have got to stop being so incredibly stupid and naïve about the Chinese intentions."
Security in numbers
Sauer sees significance in the joint speeches of Wray and McCallum. "It's clear that behind the scenes, security services are trying to partner with other security services in the world to try to thwart the Chinese regime's pernicious activity," he observes.
After all, he says, China's activities extend beyond the United States, as many others are also targeted by the regime, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and others.
"These countries are targets for Chinese cybertheft, cyberespionage, and regular espionage," he explains. "It's past time for likeminded countries to harness their best to counter the threat from China and work together to diminish it."
According to a 2017 IP Commission report by the National Bureau of Asian Research, the annual cost of intellectual property theft to the U.S. economy could be as high as $600 billion.
