That China’s economic ambitions are tied to its national interest, including military power, isn’t surprising: That’s been the subtext of the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing since it began. That doesn’t make it any less troubling to see the link between unfair economic policies and the development of the People’s Liberation Army laid out plainly in a Defense Intelligence Agency report on China’s military power.
That report, released last week, opens with a note from DIA Director Robert P. Ashley explaining the impetus for the document and a brief explanation of shifting encounters with China’s military.
In that opening Ashley makes clear that trade policy, including the same issues that President Trump has repeatedly cited such as forced technology transfer, has been used for military advantage. He argues that China uses “any means available” to acquire new defense technology, explaining:
He adds the warning that “as China continues to grow in strength and confidence, our nation’s leaders will face a China insistent on having a greater voice in global interactions, which at times may be antithetical to US interests.”
Elsewhere in the report, China’s economic ambitions are clearly linked to its military development.
For example, the Belt and Road Initiative is acknowledged as an effort to boost trade and development but also as one that “would benefit the PLA by enhancing PLA access to transportation hubs and road systems.”
The analysis also explains how the rapid development of territory under the BRI, as well as China’s other efforts abroad, “may lead to an increase in demand for the PLA to protect China’s overseas interests and provide support to Chinese personnel.”
Already, the report says some of the military applications of this expansion are clear as China gains control of key ports such as Gwadar in Pakistan and plans for military facilities in Djibouti.
Likewise, DIA explains how Beijing has exploited commercial cybertheft for both military and commercial purposes, referencing a 2014 incident where five PLA officers were indicted by the Justice Department for hacking.
Other concerns about dual-use developments point to an integrated strategy from Beijing. For example, “The Chinese government subsidizes local and provincial commercial organizations to operate militia ships to perform ‘official’ missions on an ad hoc basis outside their regular commercial roles.”
Put simply, the report makes clear that economic concerns about China cannot be divorced from defense.
That implication clearly has Beijing worried. Indeed, when the report came out last week, China was quick to push back, calling some of the claims “absurd” and arguing that the report “disregards facts,” displaying a “cold-war zero sum mentality.”
But that denial points to a real problem that the U.S. is going to have to grapple with as it works to find a deal over tariffs before the March deadline: China’s economic cheating was about much more than simple economic development. Countering it will, likewise, take more than an agreement to cut tariffs or protect intellectual property.
