January 13, 2021
Mendacious Mixture
The Growing Convergence of Russian and Chinese Information Operations
The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on a new challenge to the information ecosystem: the increasing convergence of Russian and Chinese information operations. In the early days of the pandemic, Beijing assumed a more aggressive approach to its information operations than has historically been the case. In some instances, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) even deployed tactics taken from Russia’s intentionally disruptive playbook. This change in the CCP’s tactics calls into question the predominant view of Russian and Chinese approaches.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on a new challenge to the information ecosystem: the increasing convergence of Russian and Chinese information operations.
According to this view, although Moscow and Beijing share some common goals—weakening U.S. influence and dividing U.S. alliances, for example—they pursue different approaches to advancing their objectives. The Kremlin has been confrontational and destructive, attacking its opponents by, for example, amplifying false narratives or using divisive rhetoric. The CCP, by contrast, has typically relied on a more incremental and diffuse strategy, preferring to create positive perceptions of China and the CCP as a responsible global actor. Russia and Chinese actions during the pandemic, however, underscore how these lines are being blurred and why it is increasingly important for observers to challenge some long held assumptions.
Read the full paper from The National Endowment for Democracy.
More from CNAS
-
‘The U.S. Has Got to Get Involved’: Townsend on NATO Boosting Polish Air Defences
Video
Jim Townsend, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, discusses what actions NATO countries need to take amidst Russia’s incursions of NATO airspace.W...
By Jim Townsend
-
Commentary
Defense / Transatlantic Security
Europe’s Delusions Over What It Means to Deter RussiaToday’s European leaders are in a Singapore trap, crafting a training mission designed to signal resolve rather than achieve an actual military objective....
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
The Wrong Way to Do Diplomacy With Russia
Commentary
In fact, the summit helped Putin legitimize Moscow’s grievances, giving Russians who might doubt the wisdom of the invasion reason believe that it was, as Putin promised, just...
By Celeste Wallander
-
Commentary
Indo-Pacific Security / Transatlantic Security / Middle East Security
A Project for a New World OrderIndeed, the gathering in Beijing suggests that the axis, rather than withering following the war in Iran in June, has momentum....
By Richard Fontaine & Andrea Kendall-Taylor
