China threat discourse good – stops expanding Chinese influence and brings to light Beijing’s crimes
Beckley, associate professor of political science at Tufts University and nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Brands, Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, 2023
[Michael and Hal, “China’s Threat to Global Democracy” Journal of Democracy, vol. 34, issue 1, pgs. 65-79, January 2023, https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/chinas-threat-to-global-democracy/ Accessed 7.22.24 GDI-HB]
A sixth aspect of forward defense involves more actively fighting the information war. China’s strategy involves relentlessly touting the supposed benefits of its own model, while fanning the flames of political discord in democratic societies. Exposing fake civil society groups or media outfits that are tools of Chinese influence is obviously vital. Equally important, though, is to be more aggressive in turning the tables on Beijing by spreading word of its rights abuses, mounting economic and social problems, rampant corruption, predatory overseas-lending practices, and other CCP crimes and shortcomings. The United States accumulated plenty of experience with such efforts during the Cold War, when institutions such as the now-defunct U.S. Information Agency told the truth about the Soviet bloc while contesting communist lies about the free world.34 Today, similar messages may not resonate with kleptocratic foreign leaders who are bankrolled by Beijing—but such communications will help to make the global information environment less favorable to CCP propaganda.