Abstract

The West has emerged as a major battleground in the People’s Republic of China’s quest for global influence. Chinese agents of influence have waged political warfare to refashion the West’s narratives, perceptions, and policies in ways that favor Beijing. China’s worldwide campaign, in turn, has undermined the sovereignty of Western nations and the integrity of free societies. This article contends that a deeper understanding of Chinese political warfare, as Beijing’s leaders understand it, will improve the West’s ability to diagnose the challenge and to devise counterstrategies. Drawing from the Chinese Communist Party’s own writings, this study illustrates the rationales and modalities of Chinese political warfare, assesses the factors propelling the globalization of China’s influence operations, and explains why political warfare will serve as a permanent instrument of Chinese statecraft. It concludes that the West must prepare for a long and arduous political struggle against China.

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