America’s ability to stop Chinese cyberattacks is being harmed by the federal government’s debt load, a senator suggested on Tuesday.
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“There has been a lot of talk about China and our ability to interact with China,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “The fact that we owe China trillions of dollars compromises our ability to interact with China in a firm way. It’s a complicated relationship, and that’s one of the things that makes it difficult.”
King is one of two Independent U.S. senators alongside socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Both caucus with Democrats. He made the comments to defense officials testifying on American cyberdefense capabilities.
The U.S. has struggled with state-backed Chinese hackers over the past year. President Obama established a tentative agreement this month with Chinese President Xi Jinping stating the two countries would not hack private companies for commercial gain. The agreement followed a threat of U.S. sanctions being placed on Chinese companies.
“It appears that the threat of potential economic sanctions, the threat of imposing them right before the visit of President Xi, got their attention,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the committee.
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King said it was not a “definitive agreement or treaty,” but that it was “a step in the right direction,” and added, “We have to convince the Chinese that it’s in their interest to cut this out.”
