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‘Chinese efforts to exert covert influence over the West are just as worrying as Russian subversion’ 

Washington: The Director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has said that the Chinese have ‘a much bigger footprint’ to carry out covert activities in the West than the Russians, reported the BBC.

Mike Pompeo in a interview told the BBC, that ‘Chinese efforts to exert covert influence over the West are just as worrying as Russian subversion.’

Pompeo added that Russia will target the 2018 mid-term US polls. Earlier, America had accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 Presidential elections.

“I have every expectation that they will continue to try and do that but I’m confident that America will be able to have a free and fair election (and) we will push back in a way that is sufficiently robust that the impact they have on our election won’t be great.”

Talking about China, Pompeo said: “The Chinese have a much bigger footprint upon which to execute that mission than the Russians do.

“China’s reach ranged from traditional espionage (human and cyber).” Pompeo also accused Beijing of influencing American companies seeking access to its market, the BBC report said on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, former CIA officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee was arrested on charges of retaining classified information in a case thought to be connected to the dismantling of the agency’s spy operations in China.

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