‘China paid bounty to kill American troops in Afghanistan’

US President Donald Trump is planning to declassify intelligence that China sought to pay militants to kill US troops in Afghanistan.

US troops in Afghanistan in 2008. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump is planning to declassify uncorroborated intelligence that China sought to pay militants to kill US troops in ­Afghanistan, according to several US media reports.

The President was briefed on the intelligence on December 17 by National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, who convened a National Security Council policy committee to discuss it on December 22, Politico reported.

Although “very thin” in substance, according to one senior US official, Mr Trump’s move to declassify the information stands in stark contrast to uncorroborated intelligence last year that Russia offered bounties for the killing of US soldiers in Afghanistan.

When this was reported in The New York Times, Mr Trump said he had not been briefed on it and dismissed it as a “hoax”.

An official told Politico on Thursday that the US “treats this intelligence [about China] with caution but any intelligence or reports relating to the safety of US forces is something we take very seriously”.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk from Marine One as they return to the White House on December 31. Picture: AFP

US relations with China have soured in the past year since the spread of the coronavirus, criticism of Beijing’s policies in Hong Kong and towards the Uighur minority, and the harsh tariffs ­applied by Mr Trump to try to ­reverse a huge trade deficit.

The latest accusation was called slanderous and “completely nonsense and completely fake news” by Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.

Its disclosure has raised concerns about whether Mr Trump plans to take further measures against Beijing in the final days of his presidency before Joe Biden takes over on January 20. It has also fuelled anger in Mr Biden’s transition team at the patchy ­nature of co-operation between the Trump administration and incoming officials who will take over China policy.

There is uncertainty over Mr Biden’s approach to China. As vice-president under Barack Obama, he emphasised positive co-operation and his son Hunter tried to set up business deals, but he was more critical of Beijing during the election campaign.

Mr Trump is not believed to have discussed the unverified intelligence with President Xi Jinping of China, according to the Axios news website which first reported it. Administration officials in several agencies were working to corroborate the initial intelligence report, the website said.

It added: “If this intelligence were to be confirmed it would represent a dramatic strategic shift for China and sharply escalate tensions between China and the US. If the intelligence does not prove accurate, it raises questions about the motivations of the sources behind it as well as the ­decision to declassify it.”

The New York Times reported in June that the US had uncorroborated intelligence that a Russian military spy unit had offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan. Mr Trump dismissed it as a hoax and Mark Esper, then defence secretary, said the Pentagon had not corroborated the report.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

The Times