China’s Smokeless War
The CCP is engaged in unrestricted smokeless warfare against the United States and Western Civilization.
By Laurence F. Sanford
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is waging a worldwide “smokeless war” campaign to undermine the United States and Western Civilization. Using cyberattacks, ideological infiltration, information warfare, legal warfare, and global influence, smokeless war is a strategy of subversion that avoids kinetic military confrontations.
The book Smokeless War by author Manoj Kewairamani of the Takshashila Institution in Pakistan describes how the CCP controlled the narrative and turned COVID-19 from a health crisis in China to an opportunity to create chaos and destabilize the world.
Simply by having the world refer to the virus as COVID-19 instead of the Wuhan Virus, the CCP demonstrated power and influence in controlling the narrative. (Most worldwide pandemics are named after their place of origin.)
The CCP attributed the Wuhan Virus to a local outdoor food market when, in fact, the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The CCP concealed the virus from the world for months, allowing it to spread globally. Flights in China to and from Wuhan were banned, while international flights to and from Wuhan were allowed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) support of the CCP’s positions furthered the smokeless war efforts. The Chinese model of virus control, including masks, social distancing, quarantine, and totalitarian government control, was implemented at significant economic and societal cost throughout the West. Until 2019, the West’s standard medical protocol was the isolation of the sick and for society to continue to operate freely. With the Wuhan Virus, the West followed the CCP totalitarian model of lockdowns.
The CCP’s smokeless unrestricted warfare against Western Civilization also includes:
- Support of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine
- Partnership with Iran
- Spread of disinformation
Russia
A “no-limits partnership” between China and Russia was announced in February 2022. Twenty days later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Without Chinese technology and war materials, the Russian war effort would be severely curtailed. China is Russia’s biggest oil customer, yet China avoids Western sanctions because its support for Russia is opaque.
Iran
Iran’s partnership with China includes membership in BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Belt and Road Initiative. China is Iran’s largest oil customer, with an estimated purchase of $140 billion since 2021.
China imports oil from Iran utilizing dark fleet tankers that operate without transponders to avoid detection and operate under flags of convenience. The oil is paid in renminbi, the Chinese currency, and processed in small, independent “teapot” refineries to avoid Western sanctions.
Iran’s ballistic missile program is supported by Chinese technology and missile solid propellant precursors. Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) utilize Chinese components.
Disinformation
The United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the CCP enlists social actors (primarily people of Chinese descent) throughout the world to work for the interests of the CCP. They seek to influence incremental changes without being noticed.
Examples of UFWD actions in the U.S.:
- Secret police stations
- Online trolls to influence culture with CCP propaganda
- Elite capture of corporate executives, Wall Street leaders, politicians, and university presidents
- Intimidate enemies of the CCP rule
Summary
The CCP is engaged in unrestricted smokeless warfare against the United States and Western Civilization. President Xi Jinping refers to the UFWD as the CCP’s “magic weapon” in its global influence campaign and political warfare strategy. Chairman Mao called it one of the two weapons the heroic warrior wields to shatter enemy positions.
Chaos is the friend of regime change and the destabilization of a society. The UFWD and its agents are key factors in creating chaos. The strategy is to make “useful idiots” advance the CCP’s goals.
Action
- Ban Chinese-owned TikTok and other media/cyber organizations that operate in the U.S. American-owned media cannot operate in China.
- Support independent Chinese-language media.
- Recognize and understand the threat of the CCP to America.
- Increase U.S. federal foreign agent registration requirements.
- Enhance counterintelligence capabilities not only against the CCP but also Islamist and Russian entities.
Laurence F. Sanford is a senior analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.
