This website collects cookies to deliver better user experience. Cookie Policy
Accept
Sign In
The Wall Street Publication
  • Home
  • Trending
  • U.S
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Markets
    • Personal Finance
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Arts
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Reading: CIA Chief Burns Forms China-Focused Group in Pivot Toward Asian Rival
Share
The Wall Street PublicationThe Wall Street Publication
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • Home
  • Trending
  • U.S
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Markets
    • Personal Finance
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Arts
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 The Wall Street Publication. All Rights Reserved.
The Wall Street Publication > Blog > World > CIA Chief Burns Forms China-Focused Group in Pivot Toward Asian Rival
World

CIA Chief Burns Forms China-Focused Group in Pivot Toward Asian Rival

Editorial Board Published October 7, 2021
Share
CIA Chief Burns Forms China-Focused Group in Pivot Toward Asian Rival
SHARE

WASHINGTON—CIA Director William Burns said on Thursday he is establishing a major organization within the agency focused on China, expanding and coordinating intelligence gathering against what top U.S. officials have described as a multipronged threat from Beijing.

The newly announced China Mission Center, part of an agencywide pivot toward China, will bring together case officers who recruit spies, intelligence analysts, technology experts and other specialists in a single unit. The spy agency will also recruit and train more Mandarin speakers and deploy China specialists around the world, reflecting the global nature of U.S.-China competition, a senior Central Intelligence Agency official said.

The new center “will further strengthen our collective work on the most important geopolitical threat we face in the 21st century, an increasingly adversarial Chinese government,” Mr. Burns said in a statement.

The CIA chief also announced the founding of another new center that will focus on emerging threats such as disruptive new technologies, climate change and global health that haven’t traditionally been a priority for U.S. intelligence agencies.

The structural changes highlight how the CIA, whose No. 1 priority for the last 20 years was tracking terrorists and disrupting their plots, faces a changed global landscape. At the same time, terrorism remains a threat—many analysts fear a resurgence from Afghanistan following the collapse of the U.S.-backed government there—as do Iran, North Korea and Russia.

“We also face a challenging balancing act at CIA” between new and longstanding threats, the senior agency official said.

The two mission centers and other initiatives that Mr. Burns announced Thursday were the first major changes he has made at the spy agency since taking office in March, and stem from reviews of CIA operations he launched this spring.

The agency has struggled in recent years to recruit and run agents inside China, according to former intelligence officials, even as the number of U.S. citizens arrested and convicted of spying for Beijing has grown.

On another critical topic, U.S. spy agencies were unable to pinpoint whether the virus that causes Covid-19 first infected humans via transmission from an animal or a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China, where the disease first emerged. U.S. lawmakers and members of the Biden administration have said that U.S. intelligence agencies should make pandemics and global health, traditionally low-priority issues, a greater focus of their work.

CIA officials declined to say how many additional resources and personnel would be dedicated to gathering and analyzing intelligence about China, its leaders and their intentions. In December, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said U.S. spy agencies had increased China-related spending by almost 20% in the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2021.

Mr. Burns and other top intelligence officials argue that China poses a unique challenge to the U.S. given its economic might, in technology, trade, diplomacy, defense and other spheres.

The China Mission Center is meant to signal “the singular priority” that China represents for personnel across the agency, the senior official said. As was done with counterterrorism in preceding years, Mr. Burns will host a weekly meeting on China with the center’s head and other top officials.

“The CIA must adapt to the policy priorities of each new administration as well as to the evolving global landscape of national security challenges and opportunities. If there is any country that deserves its own mission center, it is China,” former CIA Director John Brennan said.

Mr. Brennan, who served under former President Barack Obama, instituted the mission-center concept as part of a sweeping 2015 reorganization of the CIA. The centers were intended to more tightly knit the separate disciplines of gathering intelligence and analyzing it.

While saying that North Korea and Iran remain priorities, Mr. Burns nonetheless intends to eliminate separate mission centers devoted to those nations and fold them back into regional units devoted to East Asia and the Near East, respectively, the senior official said.

Explaining the change, the official said that the challenge from both countries is best addressed in a regional context, where U.S. cooperation with allies is key.

In another planned change, Mr. Burns intends to dramatically accelerate the onboarding process for new CIA officers, which can take up to two years from a prospect’s initial interview to hiring, often because of lengthy security reviews. “Right now it’s way too long,” the official said. The goal will be to shorten the time to a median of six months without cutting corners on security.

The other new unit Mr. Burns announced, the Transnational and Technology Mission Center, will have a dual focus: gathering and analyzing intelligence on border-crossing threats such as pandemics, and ensuring the CIA understands the impact of fast-paced technological innovation, including via outreach to the private sector.

Write to Warren P. Strobel at [email protected]

Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

TAGGED:PAIDWall Street PublicationWorld News
Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Stock Futures Rise After Debt-Limit Extension Proposal Stock Futures Rise After Debt-Limit Extension Proposal
Next Article Twitter, IAC, Nvidia, Levi Strauss: What to Watch When the Stock Market Opens Today Twitter, IAC, Nvidia, Levi Strauss: What to Watch When the Stock Market Opens Today

Editor's Pick

Pictures present 2,000-year-old artifacts pulled from sunken metropolis off Egypt’s coast

Pictures present 2,000-year-old artifacts pulled from sunken metropolis off Egypt’s coast

Historic statues, Roman cash and different artifacts from a sunken metropolis had been pulled from the Mediterranean Sea off the…

By Editorial Board 5 Min Read
Cracker Barrel inventory plunges amid model makeover backlash
Cracker Barrel inventory plunges amid model makeover backlash

FOX Enterprise’ Jeff Flock reviews on Cracker Barrel unveiling a brand new…

3 Min Read
Cracker Barrel inventory plunges amid model makeover backlash
Cracker Barrel holds pop-up in NYC with meals, line-dancing, nation live performance amid backlash over new emblem

FOX Enterprise' Jeff Flock experiences on Cracker Barrel’s rebrand, together with adjustments…

6 Min Read

Oponion

TNCC pins its hope on efforts to create “an army” of full-time staff like RSS

TNCC pins its hope on efforts to create “an army” of full-time staff like RSS

Grassroots community: Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the headquarters of the Tamil Nadu…

July 27, 2025

15 Finest Diamond Watches For Males in 2025 | Fashion

We independently consider all really useful…

May 3, 2025

For Jack Dorsey, It’s No Longer Hip to Be Square at Twitter

It seems even Jack Dorsey has…

November 29, 2021

Justice Department Told Deutsche Bank Lender May Have Violated Criminal Settlement

The Justice Department has informed Deutsche…

December 8, 2021

Mick Jagger, 81, Is Engaged to Melanie Hamrick, 37

Studying Time: 3 minutes Nicely, you…

April 12, 2025

You Might Also Like

Lacking New Orleans boy killed in alligator assault, police say
World

Lacking New Orleans boy killed in alligator assault, police say

A lacking 12-year-old boy with autism doubtless died following an alligator assault, police mentioned Wednesday. A virtually two-week-long search resulted…

3 Min Read
Former Auburn standout Daniel Thomas makes fast return to NFL
World

Former Auburn standout Daniel Thomas makes fast return to NFL

The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed Daniel Thomas to a two-year contract final offseason to maintain the protection out of NFL free…

2 Min Read
Corsair has simply solved a serious multitasking subject I’ve had with PC gaming, and I am all in
World

Corsair has simply solved a serious multitasking subject I’ve had with PC gaming, and I am all in

Corsair simply launched a brand new 14.5-inch touchscreen show, the Xeneon Edge It’s constructed for multitasking as a secondary display…

3 Min Read
PM Modi reiterates India’s help for decision in Ukraine battle with Finnish President; Stubb backs India-EU FTA | India Information
World

PM Modi reiterates India’s help for decision in Ukraine battle with Finnish President; Stubb backs India-EU FTA | India Information

PM Modi reiterates India’s help for decision in Ukraine battle with Finnish President; Stubb backs India-EU FTA Prime Minister Narendra…

4 Min Read
The Wall Street Publication

About Us

The Wall Street Publication, a distinguished part of the Enspirers News Group, stands as a beacon of excellence in journalism. Committed to delivering unfiltered global news, we pride ourselves on our trusted coverage of Politics, Business, Technology, and more.

Company

  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement

Contact

  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability

Term of Use

  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices

© 2024 The Wall Street Publication. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?