DNI Ratcliffe highlights China as the top threat to the United States

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is warning that China represents the top threat currently facing the U.S.

Ratcliffe, who formerly served as a U.S. congressman from Texas, noted in a Dec. 3 Wall Street Journal piece that in his current role he has access to more intelligence than anyone in the American government except the president.

"As Director of National Intelligence, I am entrusted with access to more intelligence than any member of the U.S. government other than the president," he wrote. "I oversee the intelligence agencies, and my office produces the President’s Daily Brief detailing the threats facing the country. If I could communicate one thing to the American people from this unique vantage point, it is that the People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II."

"This is our once-in-a-generation challenge," he wrote. "Americans have always risen to the moment, from defeating the scourge of fascism to bringing down the Iron Curtain. 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. The intelligence is clear. Our response must be as well."