The Chinese Communist Party is Instigating Global Perpetual Havoc

This paper will examine how China is striving for primacy within the architectures of two mechanisms. The paper will first offer a synopsis of China​​`s expansion. Furthermore, an analysis of the mechanisms of coercion and deception will follow. Ultimately, the paper will assess the ability a small nation holds to withstand Chinese influence.

Synopsis

In the wake of the Chinese revolution of 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced the formation of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Henceforth, reform and human catastrophe ensued. The Great Leap Forward  led to a famine that caused the deaths of at least 45 million.^[1] The party's policies and economic reforms have yielded enormous domestic growth. China is now a key player in several fields. As stated by Brigadier General Robert S. Spalding III, China'​s advancement was made possible because of the Clinton administration's normalization of Sino-US trade relations in 2001.^[2] The General emphasized how China'​s economic enhancement cemented its membership in the World Trade Organization. At present China advances its influence geographically, militarily, and industrially. 

The Center for Strategic Studies reports that China retains the world’s largest maritime fighting force.^[3] China also maintains a formidable fishing fleet consisting of thousands of vessels, notorious for their aggressive conduct and lack of environmental concern. Mr. Ian Urbina and his co-authors assert that, ”The maritime domain is an important front in China’s growth plans, which includes exerting power not just over the high seas and contested waters like those in the South China Sea but also consolidating control over shipping, fishing in foreign coastal waters and ports abroad».^[4] Achieving dominance in said fields are not merely autonomous enterprises in themselves. They are significant milestones in China's strategy.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has characterized China as a grave threat. FBI Director Christopher Wray notes that, “The greatest long-term threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property, and to our economic vitality, is the counterintelligence and economic espionage threat from China”.^[5]

In order to appreciate China's pursuit of global dominance, there are several mechanisms to consider. In the following we will analyse two.

Coercion

There are several cases that serve as testimony to the aforementioned FBI warning. The degree that the World Health Organization (WHO) is swayed by China​, is difficult to prove. Be that as it may, Professor David J. Rothkopf recalls when a company he worked with noticed activity on the internet suggesting there was a disease outbreak in China, “It later turned out to be the first signs of the SARS outbreak. We had used open-source intelligence analysis to spot a major development almost three months before the World Health Organization identified the crisis as such”.^[6] Likewise, during the course of, and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission head of the WHO-team investigating the origins of the virus, Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, stated, “it was "extremely unlikely" that the virus spread from a lab leak in the city of Wuhan”.^[7] In 2024 the FBI announced that they believe the lab leak is the most likely cause of the Covid-19 pandemic.^[8] These differing perspectives are, albeit time elapsed in between them, puzzling. Whether China was able to influence WHO​`​s report, should serve as a thought-provoking exercise. 

The Silk Road created a structure of trade routes along the Eurasian pathway. According to the Council of Foreign Relations, China is now creating the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and 147 countries have committed to engage in this venture, or have at the very least shown interest in this enterprise.^[9] General Spalding stresses, “China is trying to infiltrate two-thirds of the world, an achievement that would allow it, in a sense, to encircle its rivals or cut off those rivals' access to other parts of the world”.^[10] This will render Chinese trade, and consequently the Yuan currency relevant in an unruly way.

In a recent study requested by the European Parliament, and on assessing the coercion and influence risk the BRI creates, the authors assert, “Loan financing for infrastructure projects creates opportunities for China to increase its influence over the individual countries and the region as a whole”.^[11] The study states that this would enable China to coerce transportation nodes and expand its geopolitical influence.  

The realization of the BRI creates a monopoly for China; providing a decisive springboard for commanding global dominance. It would stand to reason that the patrons would willingly, or unwillingly (oblivious), be accommodating the monolithic nature of both China and communism in their yearning for short-term gains.

The BRI would allow China to geographically spread its tendrils of influence into the better part of the world. It would instill China with the perfect tool to strong-arm its targets. The mechanism of coercion flourishes through pay offs..

Deception

Is the West at war with China? The former Canadian Chief of Defense, General Wayne Eyre, wrote, “We must remember that Russia and China do not differentiate between peace and war”.^[12] This echoes General Spalding’s perception., “Many of our political leaders regard China as a partner, despite the fact that the CCP has declared itself at war with the West”.^[13] If China's intent is war, they are mascarading it as peace.

While giving a speech at the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College, the Chinese ambassador, H.E., Mr. Liu Xiaoming, stated that, “For China, the importance of The Art of War has spread far beyond military studies. The book has deep influence in framing China’s foreign policy and its approach to security and defence”.^[14] Sun Tzu´​s​ Art of War emulates contemporary Chinese action. For instance, “The Way of War is A Way of Deception”.^[15] Sun Tzu also notes, “The Skillfull Strategist Defeats the enemy Without doing battle, Captures the city Without laying siege, Overthrows the enemy state Without protracted war”.^[16]​ Upon referring to the CCP document “Unrestricted Warfare”, General Spalding cites an especially eerie piece, ”The new principles of war are no longer “using armed force to compel the enemy to submit to one's will”, but rather are “using all means, including armed force or non-armed force, military and non-military, and lethal and non-lethal means to compel the enemy to accept one's interests​”.^[17] Thus, the CCP has no limits when it comes to attaining their objectives. Consequently, when Western politicians and businesses accept short term economic gains from dealing with China, they are risking the very foundation of Western freedom.

The warfare envokes a polymorphous structure. With it often follows detrimental ramifications. China is the main supplier of fentanyl to North America, and as Andrés Martínez-Fernández and Andrew Harding note, “Indeed, unknown to most Americans, the Chinese Communist Party is actively funding, supporting, and pushing America’s most deadly drug threat in history. The combined forces of deadly Mexican drug cartels and hostile Chinese ambitions have delivered to the United States a destabilizing crisis and a death toll that each year eclipses the total of U.S. casualties from the Vietnam War”.^[18] Fentanyl siezed and sourced from China average less than one kilogram in weight, and often test above 90 percent concentration.^[19] What better way to entrap an adversary than to heighten their drug dependency. This creates a societal mayhem with an overarching effect. Notwithstanding the dire death toll, drug dependancy disrupts the lives of great many people; both victims and their loved ones. Furthermore, it comes with great economic and social cost.

Officially, China is promoting a peaceful world. However, within their own borders human rights are suppressed. The detention of more than 1 million Uyghurs in re-education camps, is considered an ongoing genocide.^[20] China's deceptive nature exemplifies the Machiavellian notion that, “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are”.^[21] Provided that the West continues to exhibit an apathetic posture, exposure to the deceptive and sinister nature of the CCP will perservere. The mechanism of deception expands China​'​s ability to influence and control.

Norway

Norway serves as a relevant case study for understanding how nations encounter the delicate balance of economic engagement and security concerns. General Spalding stresses that, “If the United States restricts capital investments in China, but European banks open their coffers, China will have no nood to reform”.^[22] Thus, the Western approach must be a combined and consentional effort. To counter this, China sows the seeds of division.

Norway’s approach mirrors the challenges that many NATO members face—maintaining trade relations and open dialogue, while addressing the risks posed by a more assertive and strategically driven China. This balancing act highlights the complexities of dealing with a global power that leverages both economic influence and non-military means to advance its interests.

From 2008 to 2015, Chinese companies invested USD 5.45 billion in Norwegian firms, compared to USD 2.7 billion in Sweden, and $700 million in Denmark.^[23] Norway has been subjected to punitive measures arising from situations where China has perceived criticism or challenges to its regime. When Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, the Sino-Norwegian relationship entered a freeze mode.^[24] The icy relationship eventually thawed when Norway signed a “Normalization Agreement”, which was largely intended to humiliate Norway and coerce it to bend the proverbial knee.^[25]

In 2018 the Chinese Communist Party intensified their pursuit to connect with its diaspora, and Captain Alexander C. Pumerantz notes that “...it could give the PRC the ability to effect global change if it can mobilize and control this population”.^[26] China is a leading nation in the field of research. Mats Arnesen notes that China is Norway​`​s top partner in technological research.^[27] Arnesen also underscores the warning from the Norwegian Police Security Service, issued to the research establishments; potential espionage and inadequate alertness. This mirrors the same phenomena USA. In Stealth War, General Spalding addresses the large number of Chinese students studying abroad. In 2017 alone, the U.S. hosted 350,000 Chinese students at its universities.^[28] The marxist motto, the “Long March through the Institutions” aspires to change public attitudes through long-term institutional infiltration, not through direct democratic means.^[29] The marxists sought to cultivate a new societal consciousness that would eventually enable broader social and political transformation. China is softly and persistently positioning itself for an intellectual entrenchment of Western society.

Norway exhibits essential expertise within specialized industries. U.S. Army intelligence has acknowledged that F-35 plans are in Chinese hands by virtue of larceny.^[30] Information on the Norwegian Joint Strike Missile would therefore certainly also be of Chinese interest. The large investments accommodate China’s influence over Norway as strong. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment emphasizes that Norwegian economy is less dependent on Chinese trade than that of other progressive economies.^[31] Nonetheless, the institute recognizes that China can pose a security threat while they continue to expand their influence.

In 2021, the Norwegian Parliament suffered two Chinese cyberattacks.^[32] The first attack was committed by the group known as «Hafnium», and it weathered the theft of over 4,000 emails from the First Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense. Shortly after, the Parliament was targeted again by another Chinese group, APT31, associated with the Chinese Ministry of State Security. The attack seemed to have a paralyzing effect.^[33] In USA, similar attacks were countered with legislation allowing the FBI to abrogate companies and ensuring that preemptive measures be taken.^[34]

Norway’s approach to the Soviet Union was based on balancing military deterrence with reassurance. China generates a different form of equilibrium; a balancing act between economic interests and value-driven diplomacy. This shift reflects the changing landscape, where China does not yet pose a direct military threat, but wields considerable economic and political influence that can affect Norway’s maneuverability.

Said approach represents the extremes in foreign policy thinking: realpolitik vs. idealpolitik. They provide a fundamental understanding of how policymakers may prioritize discordantly with respect to the state’s goals and means. This is a tight, if not impossible line to walk.

NATO emphasizes the importance of political consultation within NATO, and not merely military coordination.^[35] NATO decisions are shaped by open dialogue. Carl von Clausewitz recognized that, “A major victory can only be obtained by positive measures aimed at a decision, never by simply waiting on events”.^[36] In the context of NATO, some decisions could prove more adamant if concluded prior to future Chinese action.

Why has China been able to employ covert warfare without facing significant resistance? One hypothesis suggests that many Western military strategists might consider it to be mundane.^[37] The assumption states that the Clausewitzan notion that war is politics with other means clouds the ability to fully comprehend present motion. The hypothesis also proclaims that politicians often lack the broader insight required to tackle China’s more subtle tactics.

Norway’s relationship with China calls for promoting economic interests to the fullest extent without sidelining its value-based policies—but only to the degree necessary to sustain its self-driven moral image. This paradoxical move advances the Orwellian conception of doublethink, which means “…the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them”.^[38] It is futile, and it merely introduces a self-created line ​inasmuch as walking the line aggregates submission.

In order to withstand the pressure being exerted from China, Norway has to recognize the current state of affairs. A perimeter should be carefully considered, and fully take into account the very principles the free Western world hinges its ethos on.

Conclusion

All too often the West is falling prey to China's tactics. In The Spartan Ultimatum and Pericles` Reply, the Athenian General eloquently explains deception with his notion that, ​“What I fear is not the enemy’s strategy, but our own mistakes”.^[39] Recognizing the persistent force of China, and considering the action paralysis of the West, one promptly sympathizes with Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson. Prior to meeting his maker, the General's last official note to General Robert. E. Lee read, “I hope, so soon as practicable, to attack”.^[40] Chinese action, however tedious, requires immediate response.   

The mechanisms are decisive and interconnected factors that bolster one another. They are both destined for a critical juncture that will enable China to become the dominant hegemon. Maintaining cohesion in our joint approach towards China is paramount. 

China’s hidden warfare thrives on not attracting attention. Western defense mechanisms are often blinded. We hope this paper serves as an epiphany in every practical sense. Should we open even just one eye to the alarming reality, we may be fulfilling the saying: “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King”. Having partial insight may offer an advantage, but to fully protect our interests, warrants full-scale situational awareness.

Photo: Former Site of 5th National Congress of the Communist Party of China / Wikimedia commons