Interrogating disinformation

The U.S. counterintelligence officials and the country’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief appear to have stepped up their campaign to raise false alarms about Beijing. During a recent speech, FBI chief Christopher Wray recited groundless allegations of Chinese economic espionage to advance falsehoods about the Taiwan question. Taiwan, an inalienable part of China, cannot be used as a reference point in any campaign for a simple reason: it is China’s internal matter and Washington must abide by the one-China consensus.

Meanwhile, the National Counterintelligence and Security Centre (NCSC)’s latest intelligence advisory built on similar disinformation: the empty notion that Beijing is leading some campaign to lobby and influence U.S. state, local and business leaders. “[Alleged PRC influence operations] can be deceptive and coercive, with seemingly benign business opportunities or people-to-people exchanges sometimes masking PRC political agendas,” touts the US intelligence advisory.

This open disinformation campaign against China, and Washington’s wrongful portrayal of Beijing as a self-identified threat, is nothing but a holdover from the past. The FBI itself is yet to come clean on its own role in smearing Beijing through controversial China Initiative reports, and for inventing falsehoods about so-called Chinese espionage, cyber theft, and blackmail. Understand that for the U.S. counterintelligence officials, it helps to hype up the Beijing threat because that feeds into Washington’s outmoded cold-war mentality. To China’s full credit, it has consistently urged Washington to give-up this counterproductive cold-war view and support cooperation and credible engagement. However, the FBI and U.S. counterintelligence’s false China alarms are more proof that Washington is in no mood to let go of its outmoded mentality towards Beijing.

Ironically, what can be said with greater confidence is that NCSC’s intelligence advisory hints at a U.S. “foreign influence” operation in action: NCSC plays up the myth of “hidden PRC agendas,” and yet accuses Chinese ministries of facilitating “influence operations.” How does that add up?

Make no mistake: both developments offer vital clues that the U.S. wants to play the disinformation card to pursue more flagrant violations of the one-China principle. It shows in FBI chief Wray’s deliberate disregard for China’s sovereignty over all its provinces, including Taiwan, and false alarms about economic consequences tied to the Taiwan question. It is presumptuous on Washington’s part to assume it can violate China’s fundamental principle, and invent economic consequences out of thin air. This is dangerous conjecture.

Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China, and there is zero margin for any foreign power to exercise interference in Beijing’s internal affairs. It is in the Biden administration’s interests to focus on the opportunities for immense U.S.-China cooperation, as opposed to meddling in internal affairs and putting the blame on the Asian giant. “The US should stop a series of wrong practices that damage Sino-US relations and regional strategic stability, and work with China to effectively manage conflicts and differences,” warned Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently.

It is also no coincidence that the FBI chief’s anti-China remarks overlap with the timing of the U.S. intelligence advisory on so-called state-level foreign influence operations. Understand that more of the same campaign doesn’t mean greater traction for it. Beijing’s demonstrated commitment to non-interference towards the U.S., as well as around the world, is a fitting rebuttal to any U.S.-led espionage fiction. These assumptions are dangerous and demand investigation.

To be clear, the U.S. counterintelligence officials appear to contradict themselves directly. Consider their attempt to shine a positive light on America’s gross interference in Taiwan and Tibet: the intelligence advisory uses that as a pretext to claim China wants influence over state and local leaders. Again, the real motive is to afford a degree of legitimacy to future U.S. interference in China’s internal affairs, a stated red-line on China’s part. Hence understood, any U.S. determination to walk that path will yield no fruit, and only harm the foundations of a consequential relationship.

The question is, what does all this coordinated disinformation say about the credibility of the US intelligence thinking on Beijing?

First, it exposes the instinct to blame China for America’s own intelligence offences. Let the evidence speak for itself: it is the U.S. – not China – that has engaged in extensive espionage to collect “personal information,” used trade and investment to “punish” leaders, and sought to ensure that those set for “higher office” cater to expectations of anti-Chinese interests at all costs. Using the intelligence advisory as an inlet to attribute such falsehoods to China changes nothing on the ground.

Instead, it underlines a consistent willingness on Washington’s part to ignore past warnings on smearing China, and risks underestimating consequences that stem from that neglect. “[Beijing] understands U.S. state and local leaders enjoy a degree of independence from Washington and may seek to use them as proxies to advocate for national U.S. policies Beijing desires,” claims the NCSC bulletin.

The need of the hour couldn’t be clearer. Washington must end the arrogant notion that whatever its counterintelligence officials allege, the world will take at face value.

If anything, sustained anti-China disinformation will give strength to proportional consequences. And that puts a crisis-ridden leadership in further peril.

The writer is a foreign affairs commentator and recipient of the Fulbright Award