The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence has included China on a list of four countries that will be the focus of U.S. intelligence activities. The three other countries included on the list are Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Beijing is up in arms about its inclusion in the list, saying it will hurt ties between the U.S. and China.

In its recently unveiled 2009 National Intelligence Strategy report, the agency stressed the need for gathering intelligence on the four countries, all of which the report says are capable of threatening U.S. interests.

The U.S. intelligence agency said China shares many interests with the U.S. but its increasing natural resource-focused diplomacy and military modernization are making it a complex global challenge.