How Far Will China Go?

From buying influence at American universities to forcing Chinese nationals to return home, Beijing is expanding its political operations abroad.

China's President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening session of the Chinese Communist Party's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18.  (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)
China's President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening session of the Chinese Communist Party's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)
China's President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening session of the Chinese Communist Party's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 18. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

In January 2017, Xiao Jianhua, a Chinese businessman, was kidnapped from his hotel in Hong Kong and ferried to the mainland.

In January 2017, Xiao Jianhua, a Chinese businessman, was kidnapped from his hotel in Hong Kong and ferried to the mainland.

His case is not unique — China has kidnapped or forcibly repatriated dozens of people from around the world over the past two decades, Zach Dorfman reports in Foreign Policy. And now, these kidnappings may be happening in the United States.

This isn’t the only method China is using to expand its reach abroad. The Chinese government has also been funding and taking control of Chinese student associations across the United States in order to instill Communist Party ideology.

Though vastly different in their approaches, both of these campaigns signal that the Chinese government, as it grows more autocratic at home, has been expanding its reach abroad. Whether through buying influence at universities or more threatening methods, such as the forced repatriation of fugitives, dissidents, and Uighurs, the Chinese government is attempting to extend its power as far as possible.

To discuss these tactics, James Palmer, FP’s senior editor, is joined by Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, FP’s reporter on all things China, and Zach Dorfman, an FP contributor.

James Palmer is FP’s senior editor. Follow him on Twitter: @BeijingPalmer

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian is a contributing reporter at FP, where she covers international affairs, China, and D.C.’s foreign-policy machine. She was previously an assistant editor at FP’s China channel, Tea Leaf Nation. Follow her on Twitter: @BethanyAllenEbr

Zach Dorfman is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and an investigative journalist. Follow him on Twitter: @zachsdorfman

Tag: China

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.