Exclusive: Xi promises Biden that China will not interfere in 2024 election

CNN
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Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Joe Biden that China would not interfere in the 2024 U.S. presidential election when the two met in November — over the weekend, China’s foreign minister told Biden’s He reiterated this promise to his national security adviser, two people familiar with the matter said. Conversation told CNN.

The previously unreported exchange between Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden was a high-stakes, hours-long meeting in California aimed at easing historically high military and economic tensions between the two superpowers. This took place during the meeting.

One of the people said it was Biden who raised the issue and that the exchange was brief. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan brought up the topic again during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok over the weekend. Mr. Wang offered Mr. Sullivan the same assurance that Mr. Xi gave Mr. Biden months ago: that the Chinese government would not interfere in this fall’s U.S. presidential election, the sources said.

The possibility of China interfering with or influencing U.S. elections has been raised repeatedly in high-level meetings between the two countries in recent months, according to people briefed on the matter.

These discussions are about how dangerous U.S.-China relations have become since 2016, when Russian intelligence hacked the Democratic National Committee and released emails that damaged Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. , showing how wary U.S. officials remain about foreign election interference.

Since then, Iranian, Cuban, and Chinese operatives have all been actively working to influence U.S. elections, according to public reports from the U.S. intelligence community. However, in none of these efforts he was as active as in the 2016 Russia operation.

Even if China refrains from meddling in the 2024 election, Chinese hackers remain a powerful force, gaining a foothold in key U.S. infrastructure. For months, U.S. national security officials have said Chinese cyber operatives have been infiltrating computer networks in the maritime and transportation sectors, and that the Chinese government is attempting to disrupt the U.S. military’s response to China’s invasion of Taiwan. He has publicly warned that his access could be used against him.

CNN reported on Monday that the FBI and Justice Department are using court orders to try to lessen the impact of China’s hacking operations, but the threat remains.

The White House National Security Council declined to comment on whether election interference came up in the meetings between Biden and Xi and Sullivan and Wang. CNN has contacted China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

China has traditionally played a more passive role in trying to influence U.S. elections than Russia, U.S. intelligence officials say, and has focused on shaping a small number of congressional races. But there are signs that Chinese operatives have become increasingly aggressive in attacking American voters and political candidates.

Since 2020, senior Chinese officials have given broad instructions to Chinese operatives to “intensify efforts to influence U.S. policy and public opinion in China’s favor,” according to a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment. Chinese officials say the move aims to “widen the divisions in American society.” During December. These influence efforts include using fake social media accounts to attack U.S. politicians online.

The directives likely gave Chinese operatives “more freedom to operate” ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, according to U.S. intelligence documents.

In September, Microsoft revealed that Chinese operatives were using AI-generated images of the Statue of Liberty and other symbols of American life to imitate U.S. voters online and debate divisive political issues. I warned him that he was causing this.

Last week, a senior National Security Agency official told reporters that they had not yet seen any signs of significant new foreign influence activity aimed at the 2024 election. But U.S. officials are bracing for the possibility that Russia, Iran, China and other foreign powers may try to sow discord among voters through propaganda, hacking or other means.

“Given the growing geopolitical turmoil and chaotic domestic political environment, a wide range of threat actors have no incentive or opportunity to interfere in this year’s elections,” said Chris Krebs, who led the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency effort. There will be many.” Protecting the 2020 Election from Foreign Interference.

“If you throw in an AI-powered influence campaign, 2024 could look different than any previous election,” Krebs told CNN.

Any signs that Beijing intends to interfere in the 2024 U.S. presidential election could undermine the painstaking efforts made over the past year to stabilize U.S.-China relations. It can be confusing.

The Biden-Xi summit in Woodside, California in November resumed communications between the U.S. and Chinese militaries, which had been separated due to tensions related to Taiwan, and promised that both countries would work together to curb fentanyl. fulfilled. Both countries agreed to continue dialogue at the highest level.

Despite Xi’s attempts to personally reassure Biden on the issue, the extent to which the Chinese leader knows the vast agencies and bureaucracies that make up China’s national security apparatus remains unclear. That’s an open question for some U.S. officials. This means U.S. officials are closely monitoring whether Mr. Xi keeps his promise not to interfere in U.S. elections, one of the people said.

Biden told attendees at a private fundraiser last June that when the U.S. military shot down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon that was flying over the U.S. mainland, the Chinese leader said the balloon was believed to be Chinese property. Mr. Xi said that he was “perplexed” because he did not know that this was the case. Last year’s balloon incident soured U.S.-China relations and even led to the postponement of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing for several months.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.