A day after US Vice President Mike Pence delivered a blistering speech against Beijing, the US Defense Department says China is a "significant and growing risk" to the supply of vital material for the US military. In a nearly 150 page report, the Pentagon says China dominates production and supply chains of electronics and raw materials critical to national security. It also recommends a boost in investments in key US industries to break that dependence. CGTN White House correspondent Nathan King has the details.

US President Donald Trump received the annual Defense Industrial Base report at the White House on Friday. The Pentagon is worried about the dependence on Chinese and Asian imports including circuit boards, rare earth metals, lithium batteries for submarines and other critical equipment that are strategic to the US military. The Pentagon also says they have long been worried about so-called "kill switches", hidden in electronics that could be used to turn off vital equipment during a conflict. Or embedded chips that could be used to spy or eavesdrop. This report also echoes White House charges that Beijing subsidizes key industries and steals US technology. The Pentagon says some US suppliers are on the verge of shutting down or switching solely to foreign suppliers. The Pentagon also blames the US political system for fluctuating short-term budgets that don't invest sufficiently in US industries. The report could be an impetus to build US homegrown industries from aluminum to advanced-circuit boards and beyond. It will be expensive as the US already has an annual military budget if you add in the CIA of over a trillion dollars. It also may convince US companies that have dual use production facilities ( civilian and military) in China or in Asia to relocate back to US.

NATHAN KING WASHINGTON "And breaking the US military supply chain from China and elsewhere in Asia could have a big economic hit on some companies. The US military and its contractors spending power are almost unrivaled globally. This report will also do nothing to improve relations between Beijing and Washington. Nathan King, CGTN, Washington."