2026 Threat Assessment Decenters China, Underscoring Adversary Cooperation

Chinese missile launchers are seen during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2025. Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesWhile the Office of the Director of National Intelligence highlighted China in 2025 as the actor that most “stands out” as a threat to the United States, the 2026 threat assessment draws more attention to how a cluster of adversarial nations is propping each other up.“Selective cooperation among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, driven by the common goal of balancing U.S. efforts and actions and supporting their own strategies, is bolstering the threat that each of them poses to the U.S.,” states the report, published on March 18, that coincided with two days of congressional testimony on threats to U.S. security.