16 September 2024

Rethinking Economic Warfare with China

Adam Leslie & Mariana Rosado-Rivera

In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has waged an aggressive economic campaign against the United States and Australia in the Indo-Pacific to achieve economic and technological dominance. Through predatory economic policies, coercive Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI), and large-scale industrial espionage, China is working towards regional hegemony in the Indo-Pacific. Given China’s notion of unrestricted warfare—which includes economics, trade, finances, and technology as domains—the United States and Australia must adapt and respond to this threat.

China’s Economic Warfare Tactics

The CCP’s campaign for economic and technological dominance is a strategic effort to alter Western responses without risking direct military conflict. This approach, often termed “gray zone” activities, blurs the lines between peace and war. By exploiting the lack of a comprehensive Western strategy, China seeks to circumvent U.S. dominance in conventional warfare, as evidenced in the Indo-Pacific, where the United States struggles to maintain focus and where Australia’s efforts are overstretched and uncoordinated with allied initiatives.


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