China poses the most comprehensive military threat to the national security of the United States and aims to outstrip it as the top artificial intelligence power by 2030, an intelligence report said Tuesday.
The report, released by the U.S. intelligence community, named China, Iran, North Korea and Russia as major state actors challenging American interests on multiple fronts, spanning traditional national security to cyber, trade and technology.
"China stands out as the actor most capable of threatening U.S. interests globally, though it is also more cautious than Russia, Iran and North Korea about risking its economic and diplomatic image in the world by being too aggressive and disruptive," the community's annual threat assessment said.
The report warned that China's technological advancement, driven by a whole-of-government approach, and its dominance in the mining and processing of several minerals vital for the semiconductor industry, such as gallium and germanium, will present myriad challenges.
"China has stolen hundreds of gigabytes of intellectual property from companies in Asia, Europe and North America in an effort to leapfrog over technological hurdles," it said.
While drawing attention to China's rapid military modernization, it said the People's Liberation Army "probably is making steady but uneven progress on capabilities it would use in an attempt to seize Taiwan and deter -- and if necessary, defeat -- U.S. military intervention."
The assessment also highlighted North Korea's strengthening partnership with Russia.
It said North Korea's reliance on China has been reduced, with the increased cooperation with Russia helping the regime of Kim Jong Un financially, militarily and diplomatically.
"North Korea is probably prepared to conduct a nuclear test," while continuing to flight-test intercontinental ballistic missiles to threaten the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea, as well as other countries, it said.
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