States it contains portions of sensitive reporting disseminated between 2018 and 2020 related to the PRC, and is not a comprehensive synopsis (p.2).
p.2CIA Note — Sensitive PRC Reporting from 2018-2020
CIA NoteJul 10, 20263 pagesNote - Sensitive PRC Reporting from 2018-2020 DECLASS_REDACTED.pdf
Declassified by Counsel to the President Warrington 10 July 2026
Key Insights
AI-generated from the sourced claims — verify against the documents.
Mid-2018: the Chinese Communist Party's policy was to leverage all domestic and foreign elements opposed to the U.S. President to reduce his votes and make him resign or prevent his re-election.
Mid-2018: China was working to influence the results of the U.S. mid-term elections and later the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections; China was analyzing the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections and identifying U.S. states that voted for the President, then targeting sectors within those states with tariffs on exports to China to induce their representatives to lobby the President.
Mid-2019: China's strategy focused on undermining domestic confidence in the President, using Chinese contracts with big U.S. companies to influence business leaders against him, and seeking to identify and pay U.S. journalists who reported negatively on the President to write more negative articles; the Chinese Government wanted the President to lose the next election.
Describes China extending paid speaking invitations (with first-class travel/accommodation) to influential U.S. individuals — effective with think tank officials, academics, and former U.S. government employees — to get U.S. corporations/individuals 'hooked on China' and thereby pressure them to talk with the U.S. President.
7 sourced claims
Mid-2018: the Chinese Communist Party's policy was to leverage all domestic and foreign elements opposed to the U.S. President to reduce his votes and make him resign or prevent his re-election (p.2).
p.2Mid-2018: China was working to influence the results of the U.S. mid-term elections and later the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections; China was analyzing the 2016 [OCR: "2015"] U.S. Presidential elections and identifying U.S. states that voted for the President, then targeting sectors within those states with tariffs on exports to China to induce their representatives to lobby the President (p.2).
p.2Mid-2018: assessed the PRC's ultimate goal regarding U.S. elections was for the President not to be re-elected; China found the uncertainty of the U.S. administration unsettling (p.2).
p.2Describes China extending paid speaking invitations (with first-class travel/accommodation) to influential U.S. individuals — effective with think tank officials, academics, and former U.S. government employees — to get U.S. corporations/individuals "hooked on China" and thereby pressure them to talk with the U.S. President (p.2).
p.2Mid-2019: China assessed directing additional resources toward political swing states, viewing them as crucial for the 2020 election, and recommended applying pressure to financial supporters of the President's re-election campaign (p.2-3).
p.2Mid-2019: China's strategy focused on undermining domestic confidence in the President, using Chinese contracts with big U.S. companies to influence business leaders against him, and seeking to identify and pay U.S. journalists who reported negatively on the President to write more negative articles; the Chinese Government wanted the President to lose the next election (p.3).
p.3Page evidence
CIA Note — Sensitive PRC Reporting from 2018-2020 · p.2
Page OCR text
= | - “CLA NOTE yz CENTRAL NEL LIGENCE AGENC) ~ (U) Subject: Sensitive PRC Reporting from 2018 — 2020 HE 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: ° eee es In mid-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. e (See ores | Also in mid-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, tne PRC’s ultimate goal with regard to tne U.S. elections was for the U.S. President not to be re-elected. China found the uncertainty of the U.S. administration unsettling. aa © BEEN Sep2'2tely, the Chinese Government used a number of means to exert influence over individuals it believed would speak on behait 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 ae In mid-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 eiection. Along with this, it was also recommended that China apply pressure to
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