News Desk
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is waging a campaign of influence and coercion to shape a world order more aligned with its authoritarian model, presenting a profound challenge to the liberal democratic values championed by the United States and its allies. The hearings before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission laid bare the intricate web of strategies employed by the CCP to achieve its objectives.
David Maxwell, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel, delivered a striking keynote address during the Transregional Resistance Working Group conference at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. In his speech, Maxwell highlighted how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) employs a combination of “unrestricted warfare” tactics. These include economic coercion, technological dominance, and the manipulation of international institutions to achieve its strategic objectives. His insights underscored the CCP’s multifaceted approach to expanding its global influence and the challenges it poses to the international order.
“They aim to rewrite the rules,” Maxwell asserted, emphasizing the CCP’s ambition to supplant the United States as the world’s dominant power.
Another expert, Melanie W. Sisson from the Brookings Institution, testified before the House Armed Services Committee and painted a broader picture of the CCP’s geopolitical aspirations. Sisson underscored Beijing’s aggressive pursuit of technological supremacy through initiatives like “Made in China 2025,” its expansive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and its deployment of state-controlled enterprises to entrench economic dependencies globally. “This is not mere competition,” she explained, “but a deliberate strategy to gain leverage over states and reshape global norms to favor authoritarian governance.”
Key evidence presented at the hearings also focused on the CCP’s efforts to dominate critical technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, viewed as essential to future military and economic power. The testimony highlighted instances of intellectual property theft and the deployment of subsidies to ensure Chinese firms’ dominance in these sectors.
Moreover, the CCP’s influence extends far beyond traditional spheres of power. Witnesses detailed how the Party uses debt-trap diplomacy to ensnare developing nations, particularly through the BRI. By financing large-scale infrastructure projects in vulnerable economies, China gains not just economic influence but also political leverage. “Ports, railways, and telecommunications infrastructure are as much tools of control as they are investments,” one expert warned.
Domestically, the CCP’s repressive measures against its own citizens serve as a microcosm of its global intentions. The international community has decried its actions in Xinjiang, where up to a million Uyghurs have been detained in what Beijing calls “re-education camps.” The party’s iron grip over Hong Kong, its escalating military threats toward Taiwan, and its control over the South China Sea serve as alarming illustrations of its readiness to use force and intimidation to assert its dominance.
In the economic realm, the CCP’s coercive tactics were evident in its treatment of countries like Australia, which faced trade restrictions after calling for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. This kind of economic punishment sends a clear message: defy Beijing at your peril. “The CCP has mastered the art of weaponizing interdependence,” said another witness, who detailed the cascading effects of these actions on global supply chains.
Yet, the most unsettling revelation was the CCP’s tightening grip on international organizations, including the United Nations, where it has worked to reshape human rights norms and block efforts to hold it accountable. “The CCP is not just playing within the rules; it is rewriting them,” Maxwell emphasized.
The hearings made clear that countering the CCP’s global ambitions will require a coordinated effort. Experts recommended bolstering alliances, investing in technology, and defending the rules-based international order that has maintained global stability since World War II. As Maxwell concluded, “This is not merely a competition of systems; it is a battle for the future of global governance.”
