China uses a variety of “gray zone” strategies to combat a number of adversaries while being fairly intense and no egregiously aggressive. One such technique is used within the United States: cultural media-based hidden influence operations.
Recently, Foreign government-related action has grown more alarming.  , Previously the principal danger was People’s Republic of China ( PRC ) propaganda lulling the US into uncritical acceptance of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP ) foreign policy agenda.  , Nowadays, the Chinese government is adding its mass to the troops tearing at America’s national material from the inside.
Prior to recently, the primary goals of PRC-sponsored social media messages directed at Americans were to foster a positive perception of China and its current state and to advance Beijing’s point of view on issues involving Taiwan’s social relationship with China, the treatment of Tibetans and Uighurs, and the restrictions of civil liberties in Hong Kong.  ,
The language used in social media posts was comparable to what US-based Chinese officials were saying when they gave speeches and TV discussions or wrote articles for magazines.
This contrasted with the communication promoted by the Russian government, which usually denigrated the US government and exacerbated deeply entrenched private social and political issues in the US, suggesting that the Russian government’s intention was to foster social unrest in America.
This appeared to be in line with the individual Russian and Chinese relations with the US.  , Vladimir Putin wanted to hurt the United States.  , He held strong animosity over
- the loss of Russia’s great power status in the 1990s,
- degrading US treatment of Russia as a result of the growth of NATO and disrespect for Russian tastes as America engaged in wars in Iraq, Libya, and Syria,
- the release in 2016 of the thus- called Panama Papers, which Putin , said , was an effort by the US government to offend him, and
- punishment from the US against Russia for its 2014 annexation of Crimea.  ,
Putin is likely to welcome an economic decline and lawlessness in America.
On the other hand, China needed American to keep purchasing Chinese products, sending Chinese students to school, and bringing cutting-edge systems there. Thus, the purpose of Chinese strategic communication was to end any threats to American business continuity.
The United States has continued to try to develop good sentiments toward China.  , During the 2022 election battle in the United States, PRC- linked entities , promulgated messaging , friendly of China- pleasant prospects in a few political races. To support the Chinese propaganda about Xinjiang and another contentious political issues, TikTok has produced, promoted, and distributed brief videos to millions of its users.
However, there is now a much lighter component to PRC communication.
The US director of national intelligence , notes , “growing]PRC] efforts to actively exploit perceived US societal divisions”, through which” the PRC aims to sow doubts about US leadership]and ] undermine democracy”.
According to , Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center,” More recently, ]PRC government ] efforts have shifted to exploiting existing partisan divides in the US”, including” the Chinese actually going into US audience spaces, masquerading as Americans and posting inflammatory content around current events or social issues or political issues”.
A , report , by Microsoft published in April 2024 found attempts by the PRC to” stretched conspiratorial narratives on various social media platforms” . , Accounts that appear to be CCP- affiliated “post about contentious US regional issues such as global warming, US border policies, substance use, immigration and cultural tensions”.
As an example, these messages said the dangerous August 2023 fires in Maui, Hawaii resulted from the US defense testing a “weather weapon” . , Foreign- linked accounts also published speculation that the US government , caused , the disaster of a coach in Kentucky in November 2023 and was “hiding things” in the aftermath.
Microsoft concluded that the apparent objective of such posts is “encouraging mistrust of and disillusionment with the US government” . , In another , report , also published in April 2024, Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center assessed that Chinese government- sponsored social media activity “aims to destabilize” the US and other democracies.
There are two key factors contributing to the change in the content of PRC-promoted messaging in the social media platforms used by Americans.
The first was the coronavirus pandemic.  , Just before the virus began to severely impact the United States in early 2020, US President Donald Trump was  , praising , the Chinese government for its counter- pandemic response and , touting , a bilateral agreement that was supposed to end the” trade war” and restore normalcy to US- China trade relations.  ,
As US fatalities mounted, however, Trump , blamed , China for unleashing a “plague” on the US.  , The PRC government responded by ratcheting up its criticism of the US government.  ,
Chinese officials and government- controlled media not only decried the botched management of the pandemic in the US but extended the critique to add the argument that America’s political system is , broken , and that the US , does not , deserve , a role in global leadership. In PRC strategic communication, greater emphasis on these themes grew to be a new standard.
Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022, gave it a second boost.  , The war pulled China into stronger diplomatic support for its” no limits” quasi- ally. This has resulted in a closer harmonisation between the propaganda messages from Russia and China.  , The Chinese government, for example,  , repeats , the Russian position that NATO is responsible for causing the war.
Russia and China are working to delegitimize US influence and the liberal political outlook that threatens both Xi Jinping and Putin as the conflict in Ukraine has intensified the sense among the democracies of an increasingly dangerous authoritarian bloc.
Researchers have  , found , large numbers of China- linked social media accounts spreading pro- Trump and anti- Biden messaging, suggesting that China prefers Trump over Biden as the next US president.
Which of the two major party presidential candidates for the Russian government is unquestionably the best option for the Russian government. Trump has frequently criticized US aid for Ukraine as well as the NATO alliance and has consistently held a friendly and respectful stance toward Putin.
For Beijing, however, the question is more complicated.
Biden’s significant, foreseeable negative effects on the PRC. He would continue to thwart Chinese requests for more open access to US markets and technology. The Biden administration continued to impose tariffs on Chinese imports from the Trump era and stifled China’s access to cutting-edge technologies.  , Biden’s team has also repaired and strengthened US alliances in the Asia- Pacific region, obstructing PRC domination.
Trump, however, poses a risk to China. Trump is respectful and respectful toward Xi and has occasionally uncritically absorbed CCP views like” Korea actually used to be a part of China.”
Trump, on the other hand, appointed advisors to the White House during his first term that significantly weakened US policy toward China. Trump himself has at times harshly criticized China, as during the pandemic.  , He recently , said , he might increase tariffs on Chinese imports into the US to over 60 %.  , At his worst, Trump might be worse for China than Biden.
Has Beijing’s top leadership now decided that if America descended into chaos, its interests were best served by pursuing a compromise? Given that CCP officials continue to say that their goal is to give China the best chance to extract wealth and know-how and not Washington stop worrying about national security.
They also want Americans to feel less confident in supporting the world’s liberal democratic system of government.  , Chinese leaders want to fortify their country against demands for political liberalization.
This is part of the reason why the PRC government keeps , harping , on the importance of the” Bali consensus” in US- China relations. According to Beijing, this” consensus” is a list of five policy renunciations that Biden agreed to during his meeting with Xi in Bali in 2022, one of them his assurance that” the United States does not seek to change China’s system” . , ( There is no parallel list of policies that China renounces in the Chinese summary of the meeting, and the US , official readout , does not include a list of five US renunciations. )
It is ironic and expected that the Chinese government is a part of such a campaign.
It is ironic because Beijing so , often , and so , strenuously , insists , that” China never interferes in the affairs of other countries” . , PRC officials specifically deny that China ever has or ever will attempt to influence the US electoral process,  , saying , the accusation indicates American “paranoia” and a penchant for” slinging mud at China to divert attention” from US governance failures.
A covert attempt by the Chinese government to subvert an adversary’s government is not surprising, because the Chinese government is already preoccupied with the threat of subversion.  , The 2013 internal PRC government memo , Document No 9 , summarizes the Xi regime’s fear of” Western anti- China forces” overthrowing China’s political system by smuggling in liberal ideas and values.
The document argues that CCP authorities must “ensure that the media leadership is always firmly controlled by someone who maintains an ideology similar to the Party’s Central Committee” and that they must “allow absolutely no opportunities or outlets for incorrect thinking or viewpoints to spread.”
PRC leaders and the government-controlled media frequently mention the threat posed by” color revolutions” and place “hostile foreign forces” or “black hands” in China’s internal conflicts, which are in fact caused by dissatisfaction with Chinese colonization or CCP oppression.
Beijing will not fail to use the same tactic against its own adversaries if the Chinese government believes subversion from the outside is potentially effective.
Poor judgment and cynicism are attested by the numerous PRC officials’, including Xi, broken promises to behave ethically in international affairs.  , To dissuade Beijing from continuing to meddle in American politics, a US response is justified.
As with other Chinese gray zone operations, however, hitting back is problematic. The PRC does not hold real elections or hold open debate on domestic political issues, and China forbids the social media platforms the PRC uses to reach American audiences.  ,  ,  ,  ,
A possible proportionate US response would be to attack the ruling regime’s fear of losing legitimacy in the eyes of the Chinese population.  ,
Xi’s government has already suffered a decrease in prestige because of widespread public , pessimism , about the government’s ability to successfully manage China’s economy, plus fresh bad memories of the government’s counter- Covid policy, which included draconian lockdowns followed by acquiescence to a mass die- off.
In 2012, a , New York Times , article , documented the immense wealth built up by family members of PRC Premier Wen Jiabao.  , The expose clearly jabbed a raw nerve in Zhongnanhai, the Chinese government , scrambled , to censor the story and discussion of it, officially called it false and later expelled a , New York Times , reporter as retaliation.
Top-ranking Chinese leaders of the present are similarly susceptible to damaging revelations about their personal hypocrisy ( such as sending their children to American colleges ) from a trustworthy foreign source.
In normal times, the US could disregard Chinese social media influence operations as insignificant. Unfortunately, this Chinese push comes at a time when US domestic politics are polarized, conspiracy theories are prevalent, and procedures and institutions that are crucial to the proper operation of US democracy are in decline.
PRC interference reinforces harmful trends that are already occurring. This vile influencing behavior could lead to outcomes that Beijing may regret as well as be bad for America under such circumstances.
Denny Roy is a senior fellow at the East- West Center, Honolulu.