CHINA ACCUSED OF TESTS TO CREATE `ENHANCED' TROOPS.
China is conducting “human testing” to create “biologically enhanced soldiers,” the head of U.S. intelligence has claimed as he warned that Beijing now poses the biggest threat to the national security of the United States.
In an article for the Wall Street Journal, John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, warned that America must be prepared for an “open-ended” confrontation with China that he likened to the Cold War.
Ratcliffe said he believes China's intention was to “dominate” the planet in every sense: economically, militarily and technologically. U.S. intelligence showed that China had “conducted human testing on soldiers in the People's Liberation Army in hope of developing them with biologically enhanced capabilities.”
He added: “There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing's pursuit of power.”
Ratcliffe also said that his unique vantage point on security threats had led him to conclude that “the People's Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since the Second World War.”
He went on to outline China's strategy of economic espionage, which he framed as “rob, replicate and replace.”
“China robs U. S. companies of their intellectual property, replicates the technology, and then replaces the U.S. firms in the global marketplace.”
Hua Chunying, China's foreign affairs spokesman, dismissed Ratcliffe's article as “fake news” that contained no real evidence and jeopardized relations between the two countries.
“We hope that American politicians will respect the facts, stop making and selling fake news, stop fabricating and spreading political viruses and lies, and stop damaging Sino- U. S. relations, otherwise it will only further damage the credibility of the United States,” she said.
The article by the former Republican congressman from Texas was reportedly part of the Trump administration's wider efforts to enact a series of tough policies to confront China during the final weeks of his presidency.
Senior administration officials have hinted that the president is determined to cement his tough stance on Beijing with policies that president- elect Joe Biden will find difficult to undo.
“Unless Beijing reverses course and becomes a responsible player on the global stage, future U. S. presidents will find it politically suicidal to reverse President Trump's historic actions,” John Ullyot, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told Axios, the U. S. news website, last month.