TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former US Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said China represents the biggest economic and strategic threat facing the US after the FBI arrested a Chinese American woman accused of surveilling President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) son and his family in the US.

Pence made the remarks in a post on X, sharing a Wall Street Journal editorial about the alleged surveillance operation. The editorial said the case provided evidence the CCP does not behave like a force for peace, despite the Trump administration’s pursuit of “strategic stability” with Beijing.

Lai’s eldest son, Lai Ting-yu (賴廷與), reportedly lives and works in Washington state. The editorial said Chinese authorities could seek information about Lai’s family to use as leverage against the president and his political party.

The editorial said Beijing appeared to believe it could carry out such an operation on US soil without facing consequences. It described the case as the “tip of the iceberg” of Chinese espionage activity in the US, including efforts to penetrate the US military and companies, and surveillance of universities, Chinese dissidents, and Chinese students.

Pence wrote “China is the greatest economic and strategic threat facing the United States in the 21st century.” He shared the editorial as the case involving 34-year-old real estate agent Zhang “Heather” Wanying has drawn attention to China’s alleged use of transnational repression against Taiwanese in the US.

Zhang appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday for an initial hearing and was remanded in custody pending a detention hearing Wednesday, per CBS News. The FBI said the case “lays bare a brazen plot directed by the Chinese government.” 

The editorial concluded that Beijing’s actions, rather than Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s statements about stable US-China relations, should be the measure of China’s intentions.