China is currently increasing efforts to influence American public opinion in many of the same ways Russia has.
The belief is that China is not looking to start a war immediately with the U.S., rather, China wants to make clear it is a world superpower.
China’s president wants stability in his country to help increase economic development and resolve domestic challenges.
At the same time, China is working to increase its influence in America, and here are a few ways China is trying to sway U.S. public opinion.
Cyber threats:
As much as China does not want a war right now, there is no question they are preparing for one in the future.
At this moment there is no bigger cyber security threat in the world than the Chinese government.
Chinese hackers present the biggest threat to not only the U.S. government, but also private companies.
More specifically, China’s cyber-attacks target telecommunications, and software companies.
And in the event of a conflict with the U.S., China will make it a priority to target U.S. infrastructure.
Positive opinion:
As tensions rise between China and the U.S., more Americans negatively view China.
The negative views hurt China’s economy and growth as a superpower because Americans are less likely to buy Chinese products or work with Chinese companies
This is why China works to influence public opinion by developing ties with U.S. media and political personalities who have a favorable view of the country and speak highly of China.
Social media:
Much like Russia, China is using social media to influence Americans. The biggest way this is being done is through Chinese-owned social media such as Tik Tok.
So, not only is China collecting data about American users through Tik Tok, but they are also controlling what Americans see on the app.
And similar to Russia, China will use other social media platforms to share views about China in a positive light.
U.S. intelligence officials have said that China is stepping up efforts to influence public opinion while they covertly prepare for a future conflict with America.
As mentioned above, when China decides to strike, it will likely strike U.S. infrastructure and technology.
Energy experts have already admitted that Chinese hackers have mapped our power grid, probing its weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Which means that either ahead of an attack, or concurrent with one, China could cause strategic, or even widespread blackouts in America.
