China’s propaganda machine is outmaneuvering America’s fragmented narrative landscape, posing a significant national security challenge that demands immediate strategic attention.

At a Glance

• China invests $7-10 billion annually in global propaganda efforts to shape international opinion and advance its interests
• Beijing’s centralized “discourse power” strategy targets the Global South where U.S. influence has waned
• China effectively co-opts foreign voices and platforms to spread pro-China narratives while criticizing Western rivals
• America’s pluralistic information environment, while valuable, creates strategic disadvantages against China’s unified messaging
• U.S. policymakers must recognize this informational disparity to effectively counter China’s growing influence

Beijing’s Propaganda Machine: Scale and Strategy

The Chinese Communist Party has built a propaganda apparatus of unprecedented scale, investing between $7 billion and $10 billion annually to shape global perceptions. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, China has intensified efforts to influence foreign audiences through traditional media, public diplomacy, cultural outreach, and social media campaigns. These initiatives aim to rehabilitate China’s international image while advancing its geopolitical ambitions, particularly in regions where American influence has declined.

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At the heart of this effort is what Chinese officials term “discourse power” – a strategic communication framework designed to enhance China’s global standing and create conditions favorable to its expanding influence. The campaign focuses particularly on the Global South, including Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. These regions present opportunities for Beijing to extend its Belt and Road Initiative while promoting alternatives to Western democratic norms and human rights frameworks.

Foreign Voices as Propaganda Tools

China’s propaganda strategy relies heavily on co-opting foreign voices to deliver its messages. This approach, described by Xi Jinping himself as using “international friends for international propaganda,” proves more effective than direct messaging from Chinese state media. By elevating sympathetic foreign commentators and creating international platforms that appear independent, China can more credibly disseminate its preferred narratives while maintaining plausible deniability.

“Foreign friends will be the country’s top soldiers of propaganda against the enemy,” Xi has stated, revealing the strategic importance China places on these international mouthpieces.

Chinese propaganda officials have developed tactics they call “borrowing a boat out to sea” – using existing international platforms and institutions to spread Beijing’s messaging. This includes multilateral regional organizations like the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the China-CELAC Forum, which serve as vehicles for advancing Chinese interests while promoting state-approved narratives about China’s benevolent global role.

The Information Asymmetry Challenge

While China projects a unified message worldwide, the United States operates within a pluralistic information environment that creates strategic vulnerabilities. American policymakers contend with diverse voices and competing narratives that can undermine cohesive strategy formation. This informational asymmetry allows China to act decisively while American responses often appear fragmented or contradictory, hampering effective competition in the global influence space.

China’s strategy involves constructing alternative norms that directly challenge Western frameworks. By promoting concepts like “non-interference” and a state-centered concept of “human rights,” Beijing seeks to gradually erode American leadership in defining international standards. This normative competition represents a fundamental challenge to American strategic interests, potentially reshaping the global order in ways that disadvantage democratic governance.

Strategic Implications for America

The disparity between China’s centralized propaganda system and America’s fragmented information landscape represents a significant national security challenge. While China can maintain message discipline across all government entities and affiliated organizations, American policymakers must navigate a complex domestic media environment where strategic messaging is regularly contested. This creates operational advantages for China in diplomatic confrontations and policy disputes.

For American strategists, recognizing this information disparity represents the first step toward addressing it. While preserving the openness and pluralism that define American democracy, policymakers must develop more coherent narrative frameworks that can effectively counter China’s propaganda efforts. This requires coordination across government agencies, strategic communications planning, and engagement with allies to present unified messaging on issues of shared concern.