China remains the greatest military and cyber threat to the United States, according to a report by US intelligence agencies released on Tuesday, which said Beijing was making "steady but uneven" progress in the capabilities it could use to seize Taiwan.
China has the ability to attack the United States with conventional weapons, compromise US infrastructure with cyberattacks and target American facilities in space, the intelligence community's Annual Threat Assessment said, adding that Beijing is also seeking to displace the United States as the top power in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030.
Russia, along with Iran, North Korea and China, is seeking to challenge the US through deliberate campaigns to gain an advantage, with the war in Ukraine providing "a wealth of lessons regarding countering Western weapons and intelligence in a large-scale war," the report said.
The report, released by President Donald Trump's intelligence chiefs ahead of testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, says the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) likely planned to use large-scale language models to create fake news, impersonate individuals and enable attack networks.
"China's military has advanced capabilities, including hypersonic weapons, stealth aircraft, advanced submarines, enhanced space and cyber warfare capabilities, and a larger arsenal of nuclear weapons," Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the committee. She described Beijing as "Washington's most capable strategic competitor."
"China almost certainly has a multi-pronged national-level strategy designed to displace the US as the world's most influential AI power by 2030," the report said.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe told a Senate committee that China has made only "intermittent" efforts to limit the flow of chemicals fueling the fentanyl crisis in the US because of its reluctance to crack down on lucrative Chinese businesses.
Trump has increased tariffs on all Chinese imports by 20 percent to punish Beijing for what he says is its failure to stop shipments of the chemical fentanyl. China has denied any role in the crisis, which is the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. The issue has become a major point of friction between the Trump administration and Chinese officials.
"There is nothing to stop China... from cracking down on the chemicals used to make fentanyl," Ratcliffe said.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said the US has long exaggerated threats from China as an excuse to maintain American military hegemony.
"China is determined to be a force for peace, stability and progress in the world, as well as to defend our national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity," Liu said, adding that "fentanyl abuse is a problem that the US itself must face and solve."
The Senate committee hearing was overshadowed by Democratic senators attacking Ratcliffe and Gabbard over revelations that they and other senior Trump officials discussed highly sensitive military plans in a group on the messaging app Signal that coincidentally included an American journalist.
A number of Republican senators have focused their scrutiny on undocumented immigrants in the US.
The intelligence report said that large-scale illegal immigration has strained US infrastructure and "enabled known or suspected terrorists to cross into the United States."
Intelligence agencies have said that Iran is committed to developing surrogate networks within the United States and targeting former and current American officials.
While Iran has continued to advance its domestically produced missile and drone systems and arm a consortium of "terrorist and militant actors," they said, the US continues to assess that Tehran "is not building nuclear weapons."
US concerns about China dominated a third of the 33-page report, which said Beijing was prepared to increase military and economic coercion towards Taiwan, an island with a democratically elected government that China considers its territory.
"The PLA is likely making steady but uneven progress in the capabilities it would use in an attempt to seize Taiwan and deter – and if necessary, defeat – a US military intervention," the report said.
Intelligence agencies have said China's long-term goal is to expand access to Greenland's natural resources and use it as a "key strategic stronghold" in the Arctic.
US Vice President J.D. Vance said he would visit Greenland this week with a US delegation. Trump has angered NATO ally Denmark and Greenland with repeated calls for the US to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory, saying it is a US national security imperative.
Still, the report said, China faces "daunting" domestic challenges, including corruption, demographic imbalances, and fiscal and economic obstacles that could erode the ruling Communist Party's legitimacy at home.
China's economic growth is likely to continue to slow due to low consumer and investor confidence, and Chinese officials appear to be bracing for greater economic friction with the US, the report said.
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