White House receives ‘intel’ on Chinese bounties against US forces

The Trump administration is reportedly declassifying as-yet uncorroborated intelligence, that claims China offered to pay non-state actors in Afghanistan to attack US forces, two senior administration officials tell Axios.

The Chinese embassy in Washington DC did not respond to a request for comment by Axios and according to the report outgoing President Donald Trump is not believed to have discussed the matter with China’s President Xi Jinping.

It was not immediately clear whether any members of Congress or President-elect Joe Biden have been briefed, though Biden now has access to the President’s Daily Brief.

The intelligence was included in the president’s briefing on December 17, and Trump was verbally briefed on the matter by National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, officials told Axios.

According to the Axios article, administration officials across multiple agencies are currently working to corroborate the initial intelligence reports.

Axios was not able to visually inspect any reports detailing the intelligence but they reported stated a summary was described by the officials over the phone.

Axios meanwhile stated that if this intelligence were to be confirmed, it would represent a dramatic strategic shift for China, and sharply escalate tensions between China and the US and on the other hand, if the intelligence does not prove accurate, it raises questions about the motivations of the sources behind it as well as the decision to declassify it.

China has long played a quiet diplomatic role in Afghanistan, inviting Afghan Taliban officials to Beijing to discuss plans for a peace deal and encouraging an Afghan-led solution, though Chinese-made weapons and financing have at times also flowed into the conflict there.

But one senior official told Axios “like all first reports, we react with caution to initial reports” but “any intel reports relating to the safety of our forces we take very seriously.”

Another source said: “The US has evidence that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempted to finance attacks on American servicemen by Afghan non-state actors by offering financial incentives or ‘bounties’,” and said the National Security Council “is coordinating a whole-of-government investigation.”

He would not say whether he was referring to the Taliban, or give details about who “non-state actors” were, Axios reported.

The timing of the alleged bounty offer is unclear. The source would say only that this happened some time after late February when the US struck its deal with the Taliban.

This latest development comes just days after Afghan security officials announced they had discovered an alleged Chinese spy ring operating in the country apparently seeking to target Uyghurs.

Last week, officials confirmed that Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) detained 10 Chinese nationals on charges of espionage after busting the alleged spy ring.

The Hindustan Times reported that Beijing had tried to persuade the Afghan government to keep the case under wraps as it is a huge embarrassment for the communist country, people familiar with the matter told the Indian daily.

A senior diplomat in Kabul told the Hindustan Times that two of the 10 Chinese nationals were in touch with Haqqani Network and that Li Yangyang, one of the detainees, had been operating since July or August.

The Times reported the alleged spy was arrested by the NDS on December 10.

Another detainee, Sha Hung, reportedly ran a restaurant in Kabul’s Sherpur area, in the city center.

The Times stated that while both Chinese nationals were in touch with Haqqani Network, Li was gathering information about al-Qaeda, Taliban, and Uyghurs in Kunar and Badakhshan provinces.

Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu has reportedly been briefed about the situation by Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who in turn allegedly threatened Beijing with criminal proceedings unless it apologizes formally and admits to the violation of international protocol.

Afghanistan shares its border with China’s Xinjiang, home to Uighur Muslims who seek refuge in the country.