"Americans, Prisoners of the Chinese Communist Party"... US CIA Establishes China Mission Center to Strengthen Intelligence on China

Second Mission Center Following North Korea-Dedicated 'Korea Mission Center'
House of Representatives Points Out "CIA Fails to Properly Respond to China"
FBI Director: "China Conducts Espionage on US Mainland... Americans Are China's Hostages"
Espionage Agents Targeting China to Be Deployed Worldwide
"Similar to Cold War-Era Espionage Against the Soviet Union"

William Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is reportedly planning to establish a separate agency dedicated exclusively to intelligence activities related to China, called the "Mission Center for China."

On the 12th (local time), Bloomberg News cited multiple sources reporting that the CIA is considering the creation of the China Mission Center, which will focus solely on China-related missions. Until now, China-related missions have been handled by the CIA's East Asia and Pacific Mission Center.

According to sources, the establishment of the China Mission Center is being pursued as part of CIA Director William Burns' directive to strengthen intelligence efforts on China. The CIA stated in a press release, "Director Burns said that China is one of the priorities, and the CIA is in the process of finding the optimal structure to reflect the importance of this priority."

This is the second time a mission center has been established targeting a specific country. Previously, during the administration of former President Donald Trump in 2017, the CIA established the Korea Mission Center, which was dedicated to North Korea-related missions.

Along with the establishment of the China Mission Center, Bloomberg News reported that the CIA is also considering deploying China specialists to field offices worldwide. This signals plans to conduct intelligence operations against China similar to how the U.S. deployed agents globally against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The establishment of the China Mission Center comes amid criticism that the CIA's response capabilities were insufficient as China emerged as a new security threat to the United States.

In a report from September 2020, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee pointed out that the CIA had been overly focused on traditional targets like terrorism and had failed to adequately respond to the multifaceted challenges posed by China.

According to The New York Times (NYT), Chinese authorities reportedly killed at least 12 CIA informants within China between 2010 and 2012, effectively dismantling the CIA's intelligence network inside China.

Last year, Christopher Wray, Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), stated, "Following cyber espionage, China is conducting intelligence activities targeting Chinese nationals residing on U.S. soil," adding, "Americans are effectively becoming prisoners of the Chinese Communist Party."

Recently, there have been widespread calls from various sectors for intelligence agencies to investigate the theory that the COVID-19 virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The establishment of the CIA's China Mission Center is expected to strengthen the U.S.'s intelligence capabilities against China. Bloomberg News explained that creating an independent agency like a mission center dedicated to a specific field makes it easier to secure personnel and resources.

One source said that within the CIA, there had been a consensus on the need to establish a mission center dedicated to China missions, but no one had attempted to take concrete action. After President Joe Biden declared strategic competition with China as the top foreign policy priority upon taking office, Director Burns took the lead in establishing the China Mission Center.

During his Senate confirmation hearing in February, Director Burns emphasized, "The CIA will strengthen its China response through enhancing China expertise, expanding language capabilities, and long-term coordination of personnel and resource allocation."

He further stated, "China's hostile and predatory leadership poses the greatest threat to the United States," and expressed the view that China's goal is to replace the U.S. as the world's leading superpower.