Exclusive | cia director ratcliffe urged focus on china before trump trade war took off: ‘top of our list’

WASHINGTON — CIA Director John Ratcliffe emphasized the looming military, technological and economic threats from China in an internal memo to employees two days before President Trump’s

trade war against Beijing took off, while also announcing a streamlined workforce in coordination with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), The Post can reveal. Ratcliffe, who

vowed to target China as a “top national security threat” in his confirmation hearings, wrote that his and President Trump’s “near-term priorities for CIA” put Beijing “at the very top of

that list,” according to the March 31 document. “No adversary in the history of our Nation has presented a more formidable challenge or a more capable strategic competitor than the Chinese

Communist Party (CCP),” he wrote. “It is intent on dominating the world economically, militarily, and technologically, and it is aggressively trying to outcompete America in every corner of

the globe.” In addition, Ratcliffe told members of The Company to be vigilant about threats from Russia, Iran, North Korea and other cyber attackers and terror cells, while suggesting Elon

Musk’s DOGE would be helping to cut costs and possibly lay off needless employees. “We will be the ultimate meritocracy, and that means we will employ, develop, empower, and retain officers

who are steadfastly focused on our mission,” the former Texas congressman said. EXPLORE MORE “For decades, CIA has known nothing but growth, but the years of growing budgets and resources

are behind us. Moving forward, you will be part of a smaller, more elite and efficient workforce.” Ratcliffe added that he hoped agency leaders would “take on more risks” to “keep China in

our rear-view window” — including with the use of AI and quantum computing in partnership with private contractors to create more resilient US infrastructure and target adversaries. “It

won’t be easy, but I pledge to lead the charge in helping us do just that,” Ratcliffe vowed. “We cannot afford to continue the status quo, because whoever wins the technology race of today

will lead the world of tomorrow.” The China-linked Salt Typhoon hacking group reportedly breached US telecommunications systems in 2023 and ran amok for 18 months collecting data on hundreds

of thousands of phone numbers, including for devices tied to President Trump and Vice President JD Vance — before the extent of the breach was realized. On Wednesday, Trump paused his

“Liberation Day” global tariffs on many nations — except China, which he said would face up to 125% duties on goods and an extra 20% levy for the proliferation of precursor chemicals made to

create the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. China responded by slapping 125% import taxes on American goods — even as both countries remain top trading partners with each other.

“Protecting the homeland and American lives is key among the President’s priorities, and this includes stemming the flow of deadly narcotics into the US,” Ratcliffe affirmed in the memo. The

spy boss also echoed claims from the Trump administration that transnational criminal groups and cartels were “waging a war” against the US — and urged agents to do more “to disrupt and

deter these networks while maintaining pressure on other terrorist threats.” Trump made use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport hundreds of purported Tren de Aragua gang members to an

El Salvador mega-prison last month — but had faced an uphill battle from federal judges before the Supreme Court gave him the OK to invoke the wartime authority.