Competing Without Fighting: China's Strategy of Political Warfare

China is conducting an unprecedented campaign below the threshold of armed conflict to expand the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and weaken the United States and its partners. This campaign involves sophisticated Chinese espionage activities, offensive cyber operations, disinformation on social media platforms, economic coercion, and influence operations targeting companies, universities, and other organizations. This report offers one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of Chinese political warfare activities and examines China’s main actions, primary goals, and options for the United States and its partners. It sheds new light on the scope and breadth of Chinese activities and comes to several conclusions.