Mark Wilson via Getty Images; Zhang Tao/Xinhua via Getty Images
- FBI chief Christopher Wray says China is running the world's largest hacking program.
- He told 60 Minutes that China has stolen more US data "than every nation, big or small, combined."
- Wray said China's espionage work could threaten the competitiveness of the US economy.
FBI Director Christopher Wray says China is running the world's most extensive hacking program.
"You have the biggest hacking program in the world by far, bigger than ever other major nation combined. Stolen more of our personal and corporate data than every nation, big or small, combined," Wray told 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley in an interview that aired on Sunday.
Wray was speaking during a joint interview with his counterparts from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, a grouping that consists of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Wray told Pelley China's intelligence work poses a significant threat to the US.
"The first is that when people talk about stealing innovation or intellectual property, that's not just a Wall Street problem. That's a Main Street problem. That means American jobs, American families, American livelihoods, and the same thing for every one of our five countries, directly impacted by that theft," Wray said.
"It's not some abstract concept. It has flesh and blood, kitchen-table consequences," he continued.
But Wray stopped short of saying that China is engaging in criminal activity.
"You seem to be saying that the Chinese government is running a criminal enterprise," Pelley told Wray during the interview.
"Well, I would say the Chinese government, if they want to be a great nation, it's time for them to start acting like one," Wray said in response, adding that the Chinese government should work with other countries to combat common threats like drug trafficking and money laundering.
"It means not working with criminals but rather working to uphold the rule of law," he continued.
In a statement to 60 Minutes, China said it "firmly oppose the groundless allegations and smears" by the news program's interviewees. 60 Minutes did not specify which of China's ministries or agencies provided the comment.
The US and its allies have been fending off China's attempts at espionage. In February, the US military shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon after it flew over the continental US.
In June, The Wall Street Journal reported that China has plans to set up a spy base in Cuba that could be used to eavesdrop on signals from military installations in the southeastern US. China's Embassy in Washington declined The Journal's request for comment at the time.
China is also planning to establish a new joint military training facility in Cuba, The Journal later reported. The planned facility would, in effect, allow China to station troops right at Florida's doorstep.
When approached by the Journal, a representative from the Chinese Embassy in Washington referred to remarks made by Wang Wenbin, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, at a press conference on June 9.
"I am not aware of what you mentioned. It is well known that the US is an expert on chasing shadows and meddling in other countries' internal affairs. The US is the global champion of hacking and superpower of surveillance," Wang said at the time.
In July, MI6 chief Richard Moore said China was of paramount concern to Britain's intelligence agency.
"We now devote more resources to China than any other mission. That reflects China's importance in the world and the crucial need to understand both the intent and capability of the Chinese government," Moore told Politico's Anne McElvoy.
Representatives for China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.