China has " preferences " for the next elections in the United States, said Tuesday the director of the federal police, who revealed to open a new investigation of counterintelligence involving Beijing " every ten hours ".
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" China's pernicious influence campaign targets our policies and our positions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, " said Christopher Wray during a speech at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington. For him there is " no specific threat " on the November 3 poll, during which Republican President Donald Trump will run for a second term against Democrat Joe Biden. But these " permanent " pressures " obviously have implications for the elections, " he said. And the Chinese " undoubtedly have preferences, " added the boss of the FBI without saying more.
"1,300% increase in economic espionage cases involving China"
During his speech, he described at length Beijing's growing efforts to appropriate American technological secrets. " Over ten years, we have witnessed a 1300% increase in economic espionage cases involving China, " he said, referring to " one of the largest transfers of wealth in human history ". .
In addition to the 1,000 such files, there are more than 1,000 other investigations related to the theft of personal data, intrusions into university research or pressure on dissident refugees in the United States, he detailed. " We have gotten to the point where the FBI opens a new China-linked counterintelligence investigation every ten hours, " he said. " Right now, China is working to jeopardize (...) American research on the Covid-19, " he further accused.
For Christopher Wray, these campaigns coordinated by the Chinese Communist Party represent " the greatest long-term threat " to the security of the United States. Donald Trump's government has adopted a very critical tone in recent months towards China, which the president accuses of having concealed the extent of the spread of the new coronavirus when it appeared in the center of the country at the end of 2019 .