WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — Chinese government hackers are busily targeting water treatment plants, the electrical grid and other critical infrastructure in the United States, FBI Director Chris Wray will tell House lawmakers on Wednesday.

This is a fresh warning from Washington about Beijing's global ambitions.

Wray will say that that there's been “far too little public focus” on a cyber threat that affects “every American,” according to a copy of prepared remarks that he is to give before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike,” the prepared remarks add.

Wray and other senior U.S. officials have for years been sounding the alarm not only about the Chinese government's hacking prowess but about Beijing's determination to steal scientific and industrial research from American businesses. China has called those accusations groundless even as multiple criminal indictments have laid out detailed evidence.

“Today, and literally every day, they’re actively attacking our economic security, engaging in wholesale theft of our innovation, and our personal and corporate data,” Wray said.

The committee, chaired by Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, was established last year.

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