US President Donald Trump has made a strong claim about America's intelligence capabilities, saying the United States is better at spying on China and Russia than they are at spying on America.

Addressing a Republican campaign rally in Dubuque, Iowa, ahead of the US midterm elections, Trump dismissed concerns about Chinese and Russian espionage. He told supporters that Washington was closely monitoring its rivals and that the US was conducting similar intelligence operations against them, but more effectively.

Trump said that when people warned him that China and Russia were spying on America, his response was that the US was also keeping an eye on them. He added that America was doing it “even better” and urged people not to worry.

His remarks come amid growing concerns in Washington over alleged Chinese intelligence activities targeting US military personnel and installations.

In a development highlighting those concerns, the US Department of Justice announced on October 30 that two Chinese nationals, Liren “Ryan” Lai, 40, and Yuance Chen, 39, had each been sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

According to the Justice Department, the two men operated under the direction of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS). They were involved in facilitating secret cash payments in exchange for sensitive national security information, gathering information about US military personnel and installations, and attempting to recruit potential intelligence assets from within the US military.

The case has once again brought the issue of foreign espionage and counterintelligence into focus as the United States approaches its midterm elections.