A lack of top-tier intelligence on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s inner circle is frustrating senior Biden administration officials struggling to get ahead of Beijing’s next steps. By @PeterMartin_PCM, @JenniferJJacobs and @nwadhams: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Those officials, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive issues, say China is becoming a harder target, more opaque, just as the demand for insights into Xi’s decision-making is soaring and ...
... tensions with the U.S. are heating up over issues from Taiwan to high technology.
The current and former officials emphasize that America’s spy agencies have long struggled to provide the insights policy makers demand on China.
“Our human intelligence has been lagging for decades,” former National Security Advisor John Bolton said in an interview, when asked about China. “I never feel I have enough intelligence. I’m always willing to hear more. I’m never satisfied. No decision maker should be.”
Several of the current and former officials say U.S. intelligence shortfalls are worsening, a problem that comes as the 68-year-old Xi seeks to cement his legacy alongside former leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping at a key Communist Party meeting in Beijing this week.
Criticism of the intelligence community’s insights on China weigh most heavily on the CIA, which has primary responsibility for recruiting spies and saw its network severely damaged more than a decade ago by Beijing’s counterintelligence efforts.
"Another former official said that if he were sitting in the White House Situation Room today, his priority requests of the intelligence community would center on projections for China’s buildup of its Navy, cyber and artificial intelligence capabilities; Xi’s plans for Taiwan;"
"and better intelligence on Beijing’s strategy for the South China Sea. This person said the Trump White House also lacked good intelligence on China’s strategy toward Vietnam, India and North Korea."
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