DNI Haines deems Chinese Communist Party ‘leading and most consequential threat to US national security’

DNI Avril Haines, in testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on "worldwide threats," said the CCP is the "most consequential threat to U.S. national security."

Chinese President Xi Jinping, recently elected to a third, five-year term, gave a speech this week which Haines categorized as "the most public and direct criticism that we've seen from him to date, and probably reflects growing pessimism in Beijing about China's relationship with the United States, as well as Xi's growing worries about the trajectory of China's domestic economic development and indigenous technology innovation challenges that he now blames on the United States."  Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace. 

Haines told Congress despite "more public and directly critical rhetoric," the U.S. intelligence community assesses Beijing "still believes it benefits most by preventing a spiraling of tensions and by preserving stability in its relationship with the United States."