The West has a blind spot when it comes to China’s technological advances.
What's happening: Again and again, the West has shown that it misunderstands China's true competence in the technologies of the future — artificial intelligence, quantum science, robotics, and more. Alternatively under- and over-estimating China's progress, the U.S. and Europe are left simply unmoored in terms of tracking their primary geopolitical competition.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats released a statement Friday confirming that Russia, China, Iran and other countries conducted "influence activities" and "messaging campaigns" in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, but that there is no indication any election infrastructure was compromised.
Why it matters: This is the first formal assessment by the U.S. intelligence community that concludes foreign influence campaigns were conducted during the 2018 campaign. Coats said the intelligence community did not make an assessment on what impact these activities had on the outcome of the election.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis was supposed to arrive in Israel next week for talks on Syria and Iran but cancelled his trip following his resignation yesterday and Trump's decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria, Israeli officials tell me. Mattis plans to stay in his post through the end of February.
China's annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) that sets the overall direction for the next year's economic policies just concluded in Beijing.
Why it matters: The signals from this meeting suggest, among other things, increased efforts to stimulate the economy and work out a trade deal with the U.S.
Vladimir Putin declared Thursday that the crisis in relations with Ukraine will continue "as long as Russophobes remain in the corridors of power in Kiev.” Meanwhile, in Kiev, a brawl broke out in parliament over a poster accusing a Ukrainian politician of serving as “Putin's agent.”
The big picture: Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are still simmering 25 days after Russia intercepted, fired on and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels off of Crimea, taking 24 sailors prisoner in the process. Both sides continue to accuse the other of provocations that could lead to war.
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