John Ratcliffe warns China is experimenting with ‘gene editing’ that would make its soldiers ‘stronger and more powerful’
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe warned that the Chinese military is engaged in “gene editing” that would make their military personnel “stronger and more powerful.”
“On the military front, they’ve already achieved having the largest navy of any country in the world. From a military force standpoint, the People’s Republic of China has a military of 2 million,” Ratcliffe said during an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight Monday. “They want them to be the largest, and they also want them to be the strongest, which is why they are engaged in what you referenced, which is called gene editing, literally trying to alter the DNA, experimenting on DNA to make soldiers, sailors, and airmen stronger and more powerful.”
Ratcliffe said that although China has not caught up with the United States as the world’s foremost superpower, policymakers should not be complacent in the face of the rising threat that the country poses.
“China knows that, at this point, the United States is still the world’s superpower. They know they’re catching us in all those respects. They’re banking on the fact that we’re not going to do anything until they’re superior in all those respects,” Ratcliffe said. “We don’t ever want to be in a position where we’re looking up at China. And all of the plans that they have, all of the initiatives made in China, the digital Silk Road, Belt and Road Initiative — those are all thin veneers and facades for which China is going around the world and essentially gaining the influence, power to become the world superpower and supplant the United States in that role.”
The comments come after Ratcliffe called China “the greatest threat to America” last week in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
“The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the U.S. and the rest of the planet economically, militarily, and technologically,” he wrote. “Many of China’s major public initiatives and prominent companies offer only a layer of camouflage to the activities of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Ratcliffe warned that China is preparing for confrontation with the U.S., which will require a bipartisan response from policymakers to address.
“Beijing is preparing for an open-ended period of confrontation with the U.S. Washington should also be prepared,” he said. “Leaders must work across partisan divides to understand the threat, speak about it openly, and take action to address it.”
“This generation will be judged by its response to China’s effort to reshape the world in its own image and replace America as the dominant superpower,” he continued. “The intelligence is clear. Our response must be as well.”