The deputy director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency(CIA), Michael Ellis, says the technology race with China is America’s top intel priority. 

In a rare interview with U.S. news website Axios on Wednesday, Ellis said the top priority for the CIA's new leadership is China, adding that the agency will help U.S. companies maintain "a decisive technological advantage" in AI, chips, biotech and battery technology. 

Ellis, who is aiming to revamp the CIA together with Director John Ratcliffe since taking up his post in February, said China is the “existential threat to American security” in a way the U.S. has never confronted before. 

He then added that Russia will still be a challenge and a priority for intelligence collection, along with Iran and North Korea.