China, Beijing’s ties with Russia main threats to US

China remains the main threat to the United States globally but of increasing concern is its closer cooperation with Russia, Iran and North Korea, said an annual US intelligence report released Tuesday.

China's rise in all areas of power has been identified for years by the US as its main threat, and was behind Barack Obama's strategic Asia-Pacific pivot.

But Beijing's "coercive pressure" against Taiwan and "wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets" were indicators of its growing threat to US national security, said the Annual Threat Assessment by the intelligence community.

"China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to US national security," the report said.