CIA’s Bid to Throttle Down Chinese Espionage May Be Easier Said Than Done: Experts

CIA Director William Burns testifies during a House Intelligence Committee hearing about worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 15, 2021. Al Drago/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) reported proposition to create a mission center to keep an eye on the growing threat of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is necessary, but could be considered a lofty idea, former intelligence officers say.

Bloomberg recently reported that the CIA is considering the establishment of a new mission center to focus on the Chinese regime. While matters regarding the regime were once handled by the spy agency’s Mission Center for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, it is the desire of the CIA’s new director, William Burns, to elevate the focus on the United States’ number one strategic rival—the Chinese regime—the report said.

Geopolitical and Global Reach

The proposal for an independent “Mission Center for China” is in line with previous statements Burns made as a nominee before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in February. While describing threats to America’s national security, he admitted that “an adversarial, predatory Chinese leadership” poses the “biggest geopolitical test” to the United States.