President Trump accused China of attempting to interfere in the November midterm elections to derail his imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods during a Wednesday speech at the United Nations Security Council.
“Regrettably, we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election coming up in November. Against my administration,” Trump said. “They do not want me or us to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade. And we are winning on trade. We are winning at every level. We don’t want them to meddle or interfere in our upcoming election.”
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Chinese embassy in Washington.
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, appeared to shrug as Trump spoke. When it came his turn to speak, Wang said, “We did not and will not interfere in any country’s domestic affairs. We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China.”
Trump administration officials have less directly hinted at potential Chinese interest in U.S. elections, following Russia’s alleged 2016 involvement in the presidential election to hurt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Earlier this month Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said “what we see is ongoing capabilities and attempts” to influence U.S. politics, including from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. He declined to elaborate or clarify that point during remarks to reporters.
Coats was discussing Trump’s decision to sign an executive order creating a framework for imposing sanctions on foreigners who seek to influence U.S. elections. The order requires automatic reviews of possible foreign meddling following federal elections, and allows for administrative sanctions without a congressional vote.
Also this month, the Trump administration issued a new policy document authorizing offensive cyberattacks on foreign targets. Although not specifically aimed at election-related hacking or other illegal conduct, national security adviser John Bolton warned, “We will identify, counter, disrupt, degrade, and deter behavior in cyberspace that is destablilizing and contrary to [our] national interests.”
The Justice Department recently instructed two Chinese media outlets working in the U.S. – Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network – to register as foreign agents under a law requiring a disclaimer and mandatory disclosures to deter propaganda. The rare action follows a similar Justice Department approach toward two Russia-funded news outlets, RT and Sputnik, that have been accused of spreading propaganda.
[Opinion: China admits to (indirectly) meddling in US elections]
