China now seen as influencing politics more than ever, on a global scale

The uproar over possible Chinese interference in recentCanadian elections is a reminder of whatresearchers and intelligence agencies have warnedregarding Beijing's attempts to politically influence other nations.

The allegations of direct meddling and ofmoney flowing from Beijing operatives into the hands of some Canadianfederal candidates is indicativeof China's ramped up strategy in recent years to attempt to interfere in the political processes of countries, some observers say.

In a 2017 report,Anne-Marie Brady,a professor of political science at the University of Canterbury andspecialist of Chinese politics, wrote that China'sforeign influence activities have accelerated under Chinese President Xi Jinping and have the potential to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the political system of targeted states.

In terms of foreign interference by China,"we're not used to seeing this on such a global scale," she saidin a telephone interview with CBC News. "We haven't seen anything like this from any country for a very long time."

Indeed, this is the first timesince Mao's erathat China isassertively trying to meddle in the internal politics and societies of countries on nearly every continent, according to JoshuaKurlantzick,senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Experts explain how China interferes in foreign politics, methods used and where such methods have been deployed:

How does China interfere in foreign politics?

China uses a wide range of direct and indirect resources inattempts to influence the political process of countries and"spent years developing strategies to influence politics and elections throughout the Pacific Rim," Kurlantzick wrotein an article for the Council on Foreign Relations.

"China often uses its state media and control of Chinese language media in other countries. Its toolbox also includes economic coercion, disinformation on social media platforms, its growing power on university campuses, and its wielding of influence directly over politicians," Kurlantzick wrote.

China's foreign election interference has included"sizeable Communist Party-linked donations to political parties, financial support for friendly research institutions, harassment of the overseas diaspora, monopoly of Chinese-language media ... and other avenues,"China foreign policy experts Rush Doshi and Robert D. Williams wrote in a 2018 Lawfare article.

Jacob Wallis, an expert on election interferenceatthe Australian Strategic Policy Institute,said China will use financial inducement and at times coercionto "shift the playing field" by exploiting corrupt and malleable political elites.

"Here in Australia, we've had a number of scandals wherepoliticians [were] being handedshopping bags full of cash. So if that's what works, then that's the kind of action that we'll see, just pure political corruption,"he said.

Wallis said they have also observed howChinese information operations are shifting intheir use ofMandarin, Cantoneseand English language.

"[They are] getting increasingly confident of working in other languages. And that tells us that they are trying to target beyond diaspora groups. They're trying to target kind of international political discourse."

What's the role of the United FrontWork Department?

The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is an official armof the Chinese Communist Party that seeks to influence political activities domestically and abroad. But its importancewasnoted duringaSept. 2014 speech by Xi Jinping, who referredto it as one of CCP's"magic weapons."

"It's basically the propaganda arm;they interface with overseas advocacy groups, work with the diaspora worldwide,"saidAnna Puglisi, director of Biotechnology Programs and Senior Fellow at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

"AndI think it's really hard for westernersto understand because we don't have that. Theirmain goal is for the world to see China in a good light, that China controls the message."

But beyond propagandaUFWD is also believed to belinked, either directly or through affiliated groups, to politicalinterference ventures, say some experts.

"United front work encompasses a broad spectrum of activity, from espionage to foreign interference, influence and engagement," wrote CCP researcherAlex Joske in a 2020 report for theAustralian Strategic Policy Institute.

"United front work generally involves covert activity and is a form of interference that aids the CCP's rise and reduces resistance to its encroachment on sovereignty," he wrote.

But Joske, in an interview last year, said that while United Front networks are involved in a whole range of activities, China's professional intelligence agencies are"behind the scenes and actually directing some of these political influence operations and other covert activities."

What are some recent examples of China's alleged election meddling on other countries?

China's alleged election meddling has made headlines across the globe. Most recently, the U.S. midterms were said to have been a target of Beijing through a social media disinformation campaign. But asKurlantzick recently noted, reports filed to the U.S. Justice Departmentclaim that China has spent more money in the past six years to influence U.S. politics than any other foreign country.

"With members of Congress wary of Chinese influence, Beijing has increasingly targeted local politicians, mayors, governors, and state legislators, according to a report by the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center," wroteKurlantzick.

Australia has also been a main target for political interference, experts say. Last year, Australia media reported attempts byChinese spiesto fund candidates for Australia's centre-left Labor opposition party in its upcoming federal election but that the plot was foiled by the national security agency.

In New Zealand, there are reports that the Chinese government has "built multiple links to some of the country's toppoliticians and business leaders in part by orchestrating cushy post-retirement sinecures for some of them at Chinese state firms," according to Kurlantzick in his new bookBeijing's Global Media Offensive: China's Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World.

"In addition, at least before Covid, Beijing stepped up people-to-people links between Chinese enterprises, many of them state-owned or with state connections, and New Zealand companies,"he wrote.

Taiwan as well has reportedlybeen a target of election interference in both the 2018 local elections and 2020 presidential elections through media and disinformation tools, as China sought to promote the Beijing-friendly candidates, said Kurlantzick.

"They tried to use a whole wide range of their control over some Taiwanese media outlets, as well as a range of disinformation," he said.

WATCH |'What did you know?' PM faces more questions about election interference:

'What did you know?' PM faces more questions about election interference

2 years ago

Duration 3:01

On his way into a caucus meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explained the creation of the special rapporteur looking into election interference when reporters pressed him for more answers on his knowledge of the situation.

In the 2018 Malaysian presidential elections,Beijingattempted to influence the election "through soft power and through covert and possibly corrupt means, also known as sharp power. Beijing cultivated Chinese Malaysians,"Kurlantzick wrote in the Washington Monthly.

However, while China scored some success in the 2018 Taiwan elections, Taiwan's PresidentTsai Ing-wen won re-election in 2020 against China's preferred candidateHan Kuo-yu,which was seen as a major rebuke to Beijing.

Meanwhile, the coalition of thenMalaysian prime minister Najib tun Razak, which was backed by China, also suffered defeat.

Indeed, Kurlantzicknotes that China has "failed in its efforts more often than not,"and its efforts have often been caught,leading to a backlash.

But those setbacks, Kurlantzicktold CBC News, aren't likely to deter China's election meddling efforts. Chinacould potentially improve its efforts when it comes todisinformationcampaigns,better concealmoney that'sfunnelled to politicians or concealpressure placed on politiciansby Beijing-linked businesses, he said.

"China has been able to adapt in the past to challenges and problems. So as a result, Iexpect that they're going to come up with a shifted, more sophisticated influence strategy ona whole wide range of areas, including possiblyelection influence."