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DECLASSIFIED BY COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT WARRINGTON on 10 July 2026

NZ CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

AS CIA NOTE

ius Subject: Sensitive PRC Reporting from 2018 — 2020

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“"s CIA NOTE

iU) Subject: Sensitive PRC Reporting from 2018 — 2020

HER The following contains portions of
sensitive reporting that was disseminated
between 2018 and 2020 related to the People’s
Republic of China (PRC). This is not a
comprehensive synopsis or summary of all
reporting disseminated during that time period

+ EE 1 7 '<-2018, the
Chinese Communist Party's policy was to
leverage all domestic and foreign elements
that were opposed to the U.S. President in an
effort to reduce the U.S. President's votes and
make him resign or prevent his re-election

+ EE 41<0 9 1¢-2018,

China was working to influence the results of
the U.S. mid-term elections, and later the
resuits of the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections.
As part of this campaign, China was analyzing
the 2015 U.S. Presidential elections and
identifying U.S. states who voted for the U.S.
President. The Chinese would then identify
sectors within these states that voted to
support the U.S. President's political party, and
would attempt to make these sectors
experience negative financial consequences by
levying tariffs on exports to China from those
sectors. The Chinese hoped that these
measures would induce representatives from
these sectors to lobby the U.S. President.

As of mid-2018, the
PRC’s ultimate goal with regard to the U.S
elections was for the U.S. President not to be
re-elected. China found the uncertainty of the
U.S. administration unsettling.

ME S=P2°=¢21), th

Chinese Government used a number of means
to exert influence over individuals it believed
would speak on behaif of Chinese interests
with senior U.S. officials. China regularly
extended invitations to influential U.S.
individuals to travel to China for speaking
engagements for which they were paid
significant speaking fees, along with first-class
travei and accommodation. This was effective
particularly with think tank officials, academics,
and former U.S. government employees. The
goal of these activities was to get either U.S.
corporations or U.S. individuals “hooked on
China.” By doing so, the Chinese relied on
hitting these entities in the wallet to force
them to talk with the U.S. President about

anata gmeae se
EEE 16-2019, china

assessed that a means to gain advantage over
U.S. policy was to direct additional, unspecified
resources toward political swing states, as
China assessed these states would play a
crucial role for the 2020 U.S. presidential
election. Along with this, it was also
recommended that China apply pressure to

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CIA NOTE

financial supporters of the U.S. President’s re-

election campaign. a

Separately, in mid-
2019, the Chinese Government's strategy
against the United States was focused on
undermining domestic confidence in the U.S.
President. The strategy included efforts to use
Chinese contracts with big U.S. companies to
influence U.S. business leaders to turn against
the U.S. President. The Chinese Government
sought to identify U.S. journalists who had
reported negatively on the U.S. President and
pay them to write more negative articles about

him. The Chinese Government wanted the U.S.

President to lose the next election. aaa