- When I first went to China,
there were no cars on theroad, everybody rode bicycles,
the only clothes that men had
was either a gray Maosuit or a blue Mao suit.
I went to a trade fair
and all I saw was primitivepieces of machinery.
It was an unbelievably backwards society.
And now what's happening?
It's real and it's here.
The most complex,pernicious, aggressive threat
our nation has ever faced.
What is it? The long arm of China.
Yesterday, the SenateIntelligence Committee
revealed alarming new evidence
of China's pervasive penetration
into almost every area of American life.
And what's even a greater danger,
their nuclear arsenal,
listen, they claim tohave at least 350 warheads
that the Pentagon expects todouble over the next decade.
I can't believe thetransformation that's happened
in these last 30 years.
Here's George Thomas withthe shocking details.
- [George] New satellite images show
a major expansion ofChina's missile program.
- Xi Jinping has one goal.
To be the geopolitical, military,
and economic leader in the world, period.
- Researchers with theFederation of American Scientists
uncovered 250 suspectednuclear missile silos
represented in this image by dots.
They're under construction in a desert
in China's western Xinjiang Province.
That's the same region wherehuman rights group believe
Beijing is holding more thanone million Muslim Uyghurs
in massive concentration camps
as part of the communistgovernment's genocide
against the ethnic minority group.
- The committee, becauseof the role they play,
have a very unique insightinto this horror show
that's playing out beforeour eyes in the 21st century.
- [George] Images taken of avast site in northern China
also revealed multiplesilos under construction.
They would likely houseintercontinental ballistic missiles,
with each capable ofcarrying multiple warheads.
- [Man] The men and womenof US Strategic Command
are always ready.
- [George] US Strategic Command,
overseer of America's nuclear arsenal,
responded to these alarming revelations,
tweeting, "The public has discovered
"what we have been saying all along
"about the growing threat the world faces
"and the veil of secrecythat surrounds it."
China already has 350 nuclear warheads,
an arsenal the Pentagonbelieves will double
over the next decade.
- This rapid buildup hasbecome more difficult to hide
and it highlights howthe PRC appears again
to be deviating fromdecades of nuclear strategy
based around minimum deterrence.
- [George] It's more evidenceof China's increasingly
assertive military and missions
under President Xi Jinping.
- He is deadly earnest
about becoming the most powerfulmilitary force in the world
as well as the largest mostprominent economy in the world
by the mid 40s, 2040s, it's real.
- [George] China'sgrowing nuclear stockpile,
just one of many threatshighlighted by a Senate-selected
intelligence committee hearing Wednesday.
- China is focusing ontargeting key West technologies
for both acquisition and development.
These include aerospace,advanced manufacturing,
AI, biotech, data analytics,semiconductors, renewables,
all in order to ensurePRC's future dominance
in these areas.
- [George] Committeemembers heard witnesses tell
how China is burrowinginto almost every facet
of American life,
from academia to Hollywoodand private enterprises
to state and local governments.
Experts say Beijing'sinfluence runs deep and wide.
- The title of this hearingis "The Long Arm of China."
The long arm of China isnot some futuristic threat.
It's already here.
- [George] A formal high-ranking official
with our nation'scounterintelligence community
calling China America'sgreatest existential threat.
- And it's the most complex,pernicious, aggressive,
and strategic threat ournation has ever faced.
- It is time to wake up.
Today, China is already carrying out
the biggest illegal wealth transfer
from one nation to another
in the history of mankind.
- [George] Primarilythrough American technology
and intellectual property.
- They have weaponized our openness.
They have weaponized our decency.
And they have weaponized
our corporate lust for profits against us.
- Following Wednesday's hearing,
Senator Rubio re-introduceda bipartisan bill
to combat China's politicalinfluence operations
in the United States and around the world.
Senator Rubio is saying our nation, quote,
"must have the tools necessary to combat
"Beijing's malicious andcoercive political influence."
Pat?- George,
we hear all the rhetoric,
but what is the Bidenadministration actually doing
to counter China's global advances?
- Yeah, Pat, one way the administration
is attempting to counter China's advances
is to encourage European nations and Japan
to counter Beijing'sBelt and Road Initiative.
Pat, as you know, China hasbeen on a spending spree
in recent years,
lending and investing hundredsof billions of dollars
to help developing nations across Africa,
Latin America, Asia,
and in fact also Europe.
The president is urging wealthy nations
to offer an alternativeto Beijing's initiative,
but it has been a tough sell, though.
There is deep disagreement
among the United States and its allies
about how to respond toChina's rising power,
but the President has been clear.
He has framed China's riseas a fundamental struggle
between democracies and autocracies.
- George, what's the flashpoint?
What part of the worldshould we be watching?
- Yeah, Pat, American officials fear
that a Chinese invasion ofTaiwan is closer than we think.
China's government regardsthe island as a renegade state
and has repeatedly vowed to take it back
by force if necessary.
Beijing continues to stage wargames off the coast of Taiwan
in what is widely seen as adress rehearsal for an invasion.
Pat, by the way, the ViceChairman of the Joint Chiefs,
General John Hyten,
said recently that theUnited States, his words,
failed miserably after US forces staged
a fake battle over Taiwan.
To quote the general,
he said an aggressive red team
that had been studying the United States
for the last 20 years
just ran rings around us.
They knew exactly what we were going to do
before we did it.
The blue team,
they lost access to its entirenetworks almost immediately.
- It's frightening.
One of the greatestthreats is a cyberattack.
Are we ready for a cyberattack?
- Well, according to a new report, Pat,
from the Senate HomelandSecurity Committee,
we are not.
It found federal agencies
tasked with securing sensitive data
have failed to implement
some of the most basicdefenses against cyberattacks.
Eight agencies, includingthe State Department,
Social Security Administration,
and the Department of Homeland Security,
were evaluated, graded,
and given so-called report cards.
Well, most of them got Cs and Ds.
Only DHS showed improvementover the last two years.
Clear evidence, as we havebeen talking on this show,
that personal informationof millions of Americans
continue to be at grave risk.
- Oh, it's frightening, thank you.
