CIA Director Calls U.S. Separation from China’s Economy Stupid

Separating the US from China would be foolish given the economic interdependence of the two countries, so Washington should try to diversify its supply chains, declared William Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

“China is the only country that is determined to change the international order and is building up economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do so,” Burns said during a lecture in Oxfordshire (quoted from the South China Morning Post).

According to the head of the CIA, no country wants to be at the mercy of the “cartel of one” in relation to critical minerals and technologies.

“The answer to this question is not to separate from an economy like China’s, which would be foolish, but to reduce risks wisely and diversify by ensuring sustainable supply chains, protecting our technological superiority and investing in industrial capacity,” said He.

Burns secretly paid a working visit to Beijing in May, AP reported, citing an unnamed US official. The trip of the head of the American intelligence, as noted, was the first visit of such a high level to China after the incident with the Chinese balloon shot down in February 2023 over the territory of the United States, and was aimed at reducing tensions in relations between the two countries.

On June 19, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Wang Yi, head of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He urged the US to stop inflating the “China threat theory”, lift its illegal unilateral sanctions against China, and stop suppressing China’s technological development. Blinken, in turn, reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the Bali consensus and expressed hope for a settlement of differences with Beijing.