Reuters- U.S. spy agency leaders warned on Wednesday of the "unparalleled threat" posted by China, citing Beijing's regional aggression, cyber capabilities and economic clout as they testified at a public congressional "Worldwide Threats" hearing for the first time in more than two years.
"China increasingly is a near-peer competitor challenging the United States in multiple arenas, while pushing to revise global norms in ways that favor the authoritarian Chinese system," Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"(China) also has substantial cyber capabilities that if deployed, at a minimum, can cause localized, temporary disruptions to critical infrastructure inside the United States," Haines said.
Haines' opening statement also cited Russian efforts to undermine U.S. influence, Iran's contribution to instability in the Middle East, global terrorism and potential North Korean efforts to "drive wedges" between Washington and its allies as significant threats.
The appearance by Haines and the other intelligence agency directors was the first public "Worldwide Threats" hearing on global threats to the United States since January 2019. They were not held during the last two years of the administration of former President Donald Trump, who often clashed with the nation's security agencies.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the committee's .....READ MORE
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