Gordon G. Chang
So let me say here that, in front of the Chinese side, the UnitedStates does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength,” said China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan at the now-famous showdown in Anchorage last March.
Yang’s words, part of a long tirade, were immediately amplified by Chinese state and Communist Party media. His comment was carried for weeks, first by reporting and then by analyses. Foreign commentators picked up the storyline that the Americans in Alaska were taken by surprise, thereby giving credence to Beijing’s narrative of Chinese strength. It appears that Yang’srant and its coverage were planned well in advance. Blinken and Sullivan were, in short, ambushed.
Is Chinese propaganda effective in enhancing Beijing’s strategic objectives? The answer, evident from this tactically brilliant and seamless operation, is yes.
“China controls the most expansive, heavily resourced, and sophisticated propaganda capabilities available to any regime in history,” Kerry Gersha-neck, author of the recently released Political Warfare: Strategies for Combat-ing China’s Plan to “Win Without Fighting,”
told Strategika. “This massive pro-paganda juggernaut has reaped tremendous benefits for China’s Communist rulers in pursuit of their strategic objectives. Through its state-run propa-ganda organs, United Front organizations, and foreign enablers, Beijing has been able to effectively shape perceptions globally, if not perfectly at leastwell enough for its purposes."
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