China remains the foremost military, cyber, and strategic competitor to the United States, according to a new annual assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies, which outlined growing concerns over Beijing's long-term ambitions to surpass Washington in artificial intelligence, undermine U.S. infrastructure, and potentially seize Taiwan.
The 33-page Annual Threat Assessment, released Tuesday ahead of a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, warned that China's People's Liberation Army is "making steady but uneven progress on capabilities it would use in an attempt to seize Taiwan and deter - and if necessary, defeat - U.S. military intervention." The report also stated China seeks to displace the U.S. as the global leader in artificial intelligence by 2030.
"China's military is fielding advanced capabilities, including hypersonic weapons, stealth aircraft, advanced submarines, stronger space and cyber warfare assets and a larger arsenal of nuclear weapons," Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate panel. She described China as Washington's "most capable strategic competitor."
The intelligence findings identified a broad and sophisticated Chinese threat matrix. In addition to developing weapons systems, China is reportedly preparing to deploy large language models for disinformation campaigns, fake news dissemination, and cyber-infiltration by imitating digital personas and enabling coordinated attacks on networks.
"China almost certainly has a multifaceted, national-level strategy designed to displace the United States as the world's most influential AI power by 2030," the report stated.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, also testifying, criticized Beijing for making only "intermittent" efforts to curb the export of precursor chemicals used in fentanyl production. "There is nothing to prevent China ... from cracking down on fentanyl precursors," he said.
President Donald Trump has responded by imposing a 20% tariff on all Chinese imports, blaming Beijing for failing to stop shipments of synthetic opioid components. Fentanyl remains the leading cause of overdose deaths in the U.S., with tensions between the two countries escalating over the issue.
China has denied culpability. "Fentanyl abuse is a problem that the United States itself must confront and resolve," Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said. Liu added that the U.S. has "long hyped up the China threat as an excuse to maintain U.S. military hegemony."
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs echoed that sentiment Tuesday, with spokesperson Guo Jiakun accusing Washington of double standards. "Over the years, the US has been accustomed to crying 'stop thief' on supply chain security issues," Guo said, referencing U.S. criticisms of Chinese 5G technology and alleged cyber-espionage.
The Chinese government published its own counter-report this week through the China Cybersecurity Industry Alliance, accusing U.S. intelligence agencies of "large scale and longterm" phone and online network surveillance, allegations that were heavily amplified by state-run media.
The American report also highlighted that other adversarial states-Russia, Iran, and North Korea-remain active threats to U.S. national interests. Russia, in particular, was said to be gaining key insights from its ongoing war in Ukraine. Moscow's war has provided a "wealth of lessons regarding combat against Western weapons and intelligence in a large-scale war," the report noted.
Domestically, the intelligence report pointed to mounting strain from illegal immigration, claiming it has stretched federal infrastructure and enabled some known or suspected terrorists to enter the U.S. border.
The hearing on Capitol Hill took a dramatic turn when Democratic senators pressed Gabbard and Ratcliffe over reports that they had used an encrypted messaging app, Signal, to discuss classified military plans - with a journalist mistakenly included in the group.
Despite the internal controversy, China dominated nearly one-third of the intelligence report's content. In addition to Taiwan and cyberspace, the document noted China's interest in the Arctic, particularly in expanding access to Greenland's natural resources. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to visit Greenland this week, reinforcing U.S. interest in the strategically sensitive region.
