Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe has revealed that China was identified as the foremost national security concern well before the Trump administration’s trade conflict with Beijing officially began.
In newly surfaced remarks, Ratcliffe confirmed that during his tenure as director of national intelligence, he consistently flagged China’s expanding global influence, aggressive technology ambitions, and economic manipulation as key threats to U.S. stability. He stated that countering Beijing’s strategic objectives was considered the intelligence community’s “top priority,” even prior to the tariff escalations that defined much of Trump’s foreign policy.
Ratcliffe detailed how Chinese efforts to dominate key sectors—such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and telecommunications—were already under close scrutiny, as were concerns over espionage, intellectual property theft, and influence operations targeting U.S. institutions.
The former director emphasized that while the trade war made headlines, it was a broader security and economic rivalry with China that had been quietly escalating behind the scenes for years. He also noted that the Trump administration’s hardline stance was informed in part by intelligence assessments that painted a clear picture of Beijing’s long-term ambitions.
The comments come as China remains a central focus of U.S. policy discussions, with both political parties acknowledging the scope of the challenge it poses. Ratcliffe’s statements offer new insight into how intelligence shaped the administration’s confrontational approach—and how the perceived threat was prioritized well before it reached the public eye.