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China to be focus of US attention in Asia: CIA

* Agency chief says Europe, US ‘might never agree on security threats’

WASHINGTON: China is likely to achieve great-power status this century and maintain a military build up but is not an inevitable enemy, said CIA Director Michael Hayden on Wednesday.

“China is an economic and strategic competitor with the United States,” said Hayden in a Kansas speech on 21st-century trends, adding the country was likely to continue a “troubling” military build up. “China, a communist-led, nuclear state that aspires to - and will likely achieve - great power status during this century, will be the focus of US attention (in Asia),” he said. “It all depends on whether China acts from a narrow self-interest or with broader perspective,” said Hayden in a speech at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

Europe, US ‘might never agree’: “Europe and the United States may always differ in their views of the biggest global security threats and how to respond to them,” said Hayden.

In his speech, Hayden said this “key strategic relationship” had changed, noting that disagreements over Iraq and terrorism “have raised questions in recent years about the future of the alliance”.

“I am confident that we will continue to work together on many tough global challenges, as we are today in bringing stability to Afghanistan and in efforts to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons, for example,” he said. agencies

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