The official went on to describe recent intelligence as “rumors” and without “hard evidence”.
But the allegations involving Chinese operatives in Afghanistan are being handled much differently by Trump officials than those involving Moscow earlier this year.
Trump initially denounced media reports of alleged Russian rewards, calling it a “farce”. He said intelligence officials told him that he was not informed of these allegations at the time because they did not find them credible.
Russian claims were largely rejected. “It just wasn’t there,” said the top US official.
However, O’Brien informed Trump and members of the national security team about the latest allegations of Chinese activity in Afghanistan on December 17 and convened a Policy Coordination Committee of the National Security Council on the matter on December 22, said a senior government official.
The United States “treats this intelligence with caution, but any intelligence or report related to the security of American forces is something we take very seriously,” said the official.
President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team will seek to learn “as much as we can about these allegations,” said a transition officer, noting that the news is “another illustration of why we need full cooperation” from the Pentagon. Biden earlier this week accused the Defense Department leadership of obstructing the transition.
“As president, Joe Biden will hold anyone responsible for trying to endanger the brave Americans,” said the official. “However, we are not going to talk about alleged intelligence reports or the motivation behind the disclosure of what is reported to be information. not corroborated. ”
The new allegations involve potential Chinese incentives for “Afghan non-state actors”, unlike the militant Taliban who have been fighting US-led forces and the Afghan government, the senior official said, using the term commonly used for terrorist groups.
Recent intelligence also suggests that China has been channeling Chinese-made weapons into Afghanistan, the person said.
However, other US defense officials said they would be surprised if the allegations were true, noting that such a move would not be in line with China’s operational style. China is typically much more “cautious” in its international behavior, said a former defense official, adding that the allegations could be “misinformation”.
“I would be surprised, but not shocked,” said the person. “In my experience, the Chinese are less willing to put American service personnel in direct danger because of their escalating implications.”
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, recently met with Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar, to call for a reduction in violence and to move forward in stalled peace negotiations between militants and the Afghan government. There has been no American death in combat in Afghanistan since the United States signed a peace treaty with the Taliban in February.