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In recent years, cyberspace has become a new frontier for geopolitical competition. Countries worldwide are adapting to this reality, developing cyber strategies to defend, disrupt, and shape the digital landscape in ways that reflect their national interests. Among the most notable players in this space is China, whose cyberspace strategy blends national defense, economic prowess, and global influence to craft a comprehensive approach to achieving digital dominance. As a state that understands the power of the internet and the data it holds, China has invested heavily in shaping cyberspace to align with its political, economic, and military objectives. This article examines the key components of China’s cyberspace operations and strategy, shedding light on its broader aspirations for digital influence and control.
In recent months, concern among China-watchers has grown over the potential for war involving the United States. Adding fuel to these worries is the perception that China may leverage new technologies to strike directly at American infrastructure, military, and civilian alike. The latest Annual Threat Assessment from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence highlights that China could potentially deploy aggressive cyberspace operations to disrupt and deter American military responses, creating a new and challenging layer of modern warfare.
1. The Foundation of Chinese Cyber Strategy
China’s approach to cyberspace is deeply rooted in its concept of Comprehensive National Power (CNP), which emphasizes a combination of economic, military, technological, and cultural power to achieve national objectives. Cyberspace operations are viewed as essential in this context, allowing China to build a powerful digital infrastructure that strengthens its economy, protects state interests, and extends its influence beyond its borders.
China’s cyber strategy rests on three foundational elements: Economic and Technological Development, Cyber Sovereignty, and Military-Civil Fusion. Each plays a critical role in advancing China’s position as a cyber superpower and shaping global cybersecurity dynamics.
Economic and Technological Development is a cornerstone of China’s cyber strategy. Recognizing that technological supremacy forms the backbone of a formidable cyber presence, China has made significant investments in indigenous technological advancements. This focus spans across cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G, and the emerging realm of 6G technologies. By prioritizing development in these areas, China not only bolsters its own cyber capabilities but also reduces dependency on foreign technology, enhancing its security and strengthening its competitive edge on the global stage.
Cyber Sovereignty reflects a distinctly Chinese approach to cyberspace governance. In contrast to the West, where the digital domain is often treated as a global commons, China sees cyberspace as an entity that should be subject to state control. This principle of cyber sovereignty enables China to regulate domestic digital spaces rigorously while exerting influence over international cyber governance standards. By asserting authority over its own cyberspace, China gains the ability to control the flow of information and curb foreign influence, thus ensuring that its cyber environment aligns with national interests and ideological goals.
Military-Civil Fusion is a unique strategy that blurs the lines between civilian and military technological developments. Through this approach, China aims to integrate the latest advancements from the private sector directly into the military domain, effectively strengthening the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). By leveraging civilian innovations in technology, China enhances its cyber warfare resources, equipping the PLA with state-of-the-art tools for cyber operations. This fusion not only accelerates the development of advanced military technologies but also allows for rapid adaptation of cutting-edge civilian tech for strategic advantage in the cyber realm.
2. Key Pillars of Chinese Cyber Operations
China’s cyberspace strategy is anchored in three core pillars: Information Dominance, Cyber Espionage, and Network Defense. Each of these elements is strategically designed to meet China’s national objectives while safeguarding state interests against foreign threats and maintaining control over the digital landscape.
Historically, China’s focus in cyberspace has been espionage. Cyber Espionage serves as a critical tool in China’s cyber strategy, providing a low-cost, high-reward means of acquiring sensitive information. Through sophisticated infiltration of foreign organizations and critical infrastructure, China gains access to intellectual property, military intelligence, and economic data that enhance its competitiveness and drive technological advancements. This approach allows China to bypass traditional espionage methods, instead capitalizing on cyber capabilities to extract valuable insights.
U.S. officials have repeatedly raised alarms about Chinese cyber activities aimed at data theft, not just to uncover military secrets but also to gather intellectual property and critical data for domestic technological advancement. For years, Chinese cyber operators have collected data to feed their artificial intelligence programs and enhance their competitive position in global technology. This stealth approach has made cyberspace a foundational tool for modern Chinese espionage. Notable incidents, like the 2015 U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) breach, highlight the scale, impact, and persistence of Chinese cyber espionage efforts in gathering strategically significant data from foreign entities.
Information Dominance is fundamental to China’s approach in cyberspace, emphasizing control over both domestic and international narratives. Domestically, this is achieved through the Great Firewall and widespread censorship, which allow the state to shape public discourse, regulate the information flow, and prevent the spread of ideas that conflict with state ideology. Internationally, China has extended its influence by leveraging social media, content manipulation, and coordinated disinformation campaigns. These efforts aim to project favorable narratives, sway public opinion, and enhance China’s image globally, reinforcing its political and economic agenda on the world stage.
Network Defense plays an essential role in China’s internal cybersecurity framework. With the state’s extensive control over the digital domain, robust cybersecurity measures are employed to counter foreign cyber threats and maintain stability within domestic networks. China invests heavily in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable rapid threat detection and response, thereby reinforcing its network defenses. These defensive strategies help China safeguard its digital sovereignty, ensuring that its networks remain resilient against external interference while preserving state control over the domestic cyberspace.
China’s APT41: Blending Espionage with Economic Cybercrime
China’s APT41 stands out for its dual-purpose activities: state-sponsored espionage and financially motivated cybercrime. Operating with precision and scale, APT41 has targeted telecom, finance, and healthcare sectors globally, gathering data that supports both the Chinese government’s strategic ambitions and the group’s private financial interests. This blend of political and economic cyber activity is unique among nation-state actors, as APT41’s operations appear to serve both public motives, like advancing China’s political agenda, and private ones, including profit-driven schemes. China’s alleged involvement in such multifaceted operations underscores a broader strategy aimed at gaining economic advantage and subtly exerting control over critical sectors in the global market. Through APT41, China leverages cyber capabilities to further its geopolitical objectives while simultaneously acquiring wealth and sensitive information that can be used for future economic or political gain.
Shift to Offensive Cyber Operations
However, recent reports indicate a shift from traditional espionage to more offensive cyber capabilities. If conflict were imminent, China’s military doctrine suggests it would quickly seek to dominate in cyberspace, targeting U.S. military assets and infrastructure to obstruct decision-making and induce societal chaos. By undermining the integrity of U.S. information networks and communications, China aims to reduce U.S. visibility on the battlefield, sowing confusion and potentially deterring a robust U.S. response. This shift from espionage to disruptive warfare reflects a broader strategy aimed at enabling rapid and decisive victories at a relatively low cost.
Chinese military strategists understand that the U.S. military relies heavily on vast, interconnected information systems for coordinating across multiple domains. This vast digital infrastructure presents an attractive attack surface for adversaries seeking to weaken the U.S. ability to respond quickly and effectively in a conflict. In theory, by disrupting these communication channels, Beijing could create friction and operational setbacks that hamper U.S. forces. The remote nature of cyberspace attacks also allows China to obscure the origin of its attacks, adding a layer of complexity to U.S. defense strategies.
U.S. officials are increasingly convinced that China possesses the capability to target both military and civilian domains, potentially leading to devastating outcomes. Unlike compartmentalized military networks, U.S. civilian infrastructure networks are vast, complex, and often outdated. This leaves them highly susceptible to cyber intrusions, particularly in times of crisis. Attacks on public infrastructure, from electricity grids to financial systems, carry a distinct psychological dimension. The widespread chaos from a lack of power, clean water, and accessible funds could lead to social panic, paralyzing the public and sowing doubt about the stability of U.S. security. In times of war, such panic could pressure policymakers to rethink their approach to foreign conflicts, particularly those far from home.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) director, Jen Easterly, recently outlined a scenario in which China could unleash malware targeting telecommunications, water systems, and other critical infrastructure. Such an attack could disrupt national security and produce severe social and economic impacts, effectively incapacitating the nation from within. “Telecommunications going down, people falling ill due to polluted water, trains derailed – an everything, everywhere, all-at-once scenario,” as Easterly described it, paints a nightmarish vision of societal collapse and economic disarray.
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission Report of 2020 foreshadowed such a scenario with a dire depiction of Washington, D.C. in the wake of a cyber attack, where distrust in infrastructure forced people to live in tent cities, even as authorities deemed it safe to return home. From Beijing’s perspective, social unrest and internal pressures could weaken U.S. resolve to engage in military action far from its borders, possibly preventing or shortening a war. This tactic, however, may rest on overly optimistic assumptions about the lasting impact of cyber disruptions and the U.S. capacity for recovery.
The Role of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Cyberspace
The PLA is a critical player in China’s cyber strategy, having identified cyberspace as a key domain for national defense in recent years. Within the PLA, the Strategic Support Force (SSF) handles cyber, electronic, and psychological warfare, enabling China to conduct coordinated operations that can disrupt an adversary’s critical systems during conflicts.
The PLA’s cyber doctrine emphasizes both defensive and offensive strategies. On the defensive front, the PLA focuses on protecting critical infrastructure and military systems from foreign cyberattacks. However, the offensive aspect is more complex. PLA doctrine includes the use of cyberattacks to disable enemy systems, interfere with communications, and spread misinformation—objectives that can be achieved remotely with reduced risk to personnel.
China’s Global Influence Through Cyber Diplomacy
China’s cyber strategy is not limited to defense and espionage; it extends into the diplomatic sphere. Through forums like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China promotes its vision of cyber sovereignty, arguing that each country should have the right to govern its digital space independently. This stance has found support among other authoritarian regimes, thereby shaping the global governance of cyberspace in a direction that is conducive to state control.
Moreover, China has played a role in the development of cyber infrastructure in other countries through its Digital Silk Road (DSR) initiative. Part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the DSR seeks to extend Chinese influence by building telecommunications networks, e-commerce platforms, and surveillance systems in partner countries. By providing these digital infrastructures, China gains a foothold in the data flows of these nations, creating opportunities for economic gain, political influence, and potentially, intelligence gathering.
Challenges and Global Responses
China’s rapid expansion in cyberspace has raised alarms globally, particularly among Western nations, who view it as a threat to the open and democratic nature of the internet. Cyberattacks linked to Chinese state actors, such as the APT 10 campaign and the Microsoft Exchange hack, have resulted in calls for increased cybersecurity measures and stricter international regulations on cyber warfare.
In response, countries like the United States, Japan, and members of the European Union have bolstered their cyber defenses, developed cyber warfare units, and formed alliances like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) to counter Chinese influence. Additionally, international organizations, including NATO, have emphasized the importance of cybersecurity, viewing cyberattacks on member states as possible grounds for invoking collective defense measures.
The Future of China’s Cyber Strategy
Looking ahead, China’s cyber strategy is likely to become more sophisticated, with continued investments in emerging technologies like quantum cryptography, AI-driven cyber defenses, and 5G security protocols. As China grows its influence on the world stage, its approach to cyberspace will likely prioritize resilience, offensive capabilities, and the expansion of its digital footprint globally.
The international community, meanwhile, will face increasing pressure to adapt and respond to these developments. Diplomatic strategies, alliances, and norms surrounding cyber warfare and espionage will need to evolve to meet the challenges posed by state actors like China. As a global leader in cyberspace operations, China will undoubtedly remain at the center of these developments, shaping the future of digital conflict and diplomacy for years to come.
Final Thoughts
Cyberspace is poised to be a pivotal battlefield in any potential conflict between China and the U.S. The ability to target both military and civilian domains provides China with strategic options to exert pressure beyond conventional means. However, the efficacy of such operations may not meet Beijing’s expectations if the U.S. demonstrates resilience and adaptability in its cyber defenses. For both nations, cyberspace operations will serve as a complement to traditional military strategies rather than a replacement. As cyber defenses advance and countries learn to counter these tactics, cyber operations may evolve into an additional tool within a broader strategic arsenal, rather than the decisive factor in conflicts.
China’s cyberspace strategy underscores its ambition to secure a leading role in the 21st century. By effectively leveraging cyber capabilities, the nation has fortified its internal infrastructure, expanded its global influence, and established a precedent for the strategic use of cyber power on the world stage. As nations grapple with the far-reaching implications of cyber warfare, understanding China’s approach becomes critical for preparing for the complexities of the digital age. The future of cyberspace will undoubtedly be shaped by this ongoing struggle for dominance, necessitating careful strategy, international cooperation, and foresight to navigate the evolving landscape of global cyber relations.
