Why the ‘Cold War’ With China is Different – and Potentially More Dangerous

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — At a moment when competition with China tops the list of concerns for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), the man in charge at the National Intelligence Council (NIC) happens to have spent the better part of three decades working on East Asia, and much of that time on China in particular. Michael Collins began his intelligence career as an East Asia analyst and later served as Deputy Director of the CIA’s East Asian Pacific Mission Center, and Chief Strategy Officer of the agency.

As acting Chair of the NIC, Collins runs an institution tasked with producing the regular National Intelligence Estimates and the IC’s Global Trends Report, which is issued every four years.