Countering Chinese Communist Party Influence Around the World The Vandenberg Coalition

Thank you to our friends at the Heritage Foundation for co-hosting this live conversation on the CCP's growing influence operations inside the United States!
Guests:
Bryan Burack | The Heritage Foundation
Brian Cavanaugh | American Global Strategies
Jacqueline Deal | Long Term Strategy Group
Michele Exner | Parents Defending Education
Host:
Carrie Filipetti | The Vandenberg Coalition
The rise of China isn’t just a foreign concern. Over the last few years, there have been multiple incidents of Chinese attacks against our homeland, from the 2023 spy balloon, to inciting the fentanyl crisis, to influencing our students and children in schools and online. What are the CCP’s political, economic, and diplomatic aims against the United States? How does Chinese soft power influence American culture, education, and media? How is U.S. national security compromised by China’s influence operations on America's homeland? Addressing these questions requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving experts from various domains in the complex U.S.-Chinese relationship. Amid a period of heightened U.S.-Chinese relations, speakers will dissect the litany of China’s influence operations in the United States and the importance of defending American national security at a time of China’s malign campaign for global dominance.
In this series, the Vandenberg Coalition shifts the focus beyond the Indo-Pacific and into various regions around the world where the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American interests. Each episode in the series discusses China’s growing influence in a given region, how it measures against American influence, how to define our relationship with the region in light of competing priorities, and what America can and should be doing to better protect and advance our national interests.  

In this installment of “Countering Chinese Communist Party Influence Around the World,” leading experts discuss China’s growing influence in multilateral organizations. Executive Director of The Vandenberg Coalition Carrie Filipetti speaks with former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and the U.S. Representative at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women  Kelley Currie and former Chief of Staff to U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nikki R. Haley Morgan Viña, who outline ways for the United States to effectively counter the CCP while strengthening our leadership role on the global stage.  
In this series, the Vandenberg Coalition shifts the focus beyond the Indo-Pacific and into various regions around the world where the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American interests. Each episode in the series discusses China’s growing influence in a given region, how it measures against American influence, how to define our relationship with the region in light of competing priorities, and what America can and should be doing to better protect and advance our national interests.  
00:00:00 Opening by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti 
00:01:31 Mechanisms for China’s engagement at the United Nations 
00:03:33 CCP’s objectives in the international system  
00:09:37 China on the offense: successes at the United Nations 
00:18:10 Discrepancy in UN funding contributions between the U.S. and China  
00:20:23 China’s takeover of the World Health Organization 
00:26:18 Need for strategic reform of the American role in the United Nations 
00:34:37 Criticism of the UN’s inherent value in promoting American interests 
00:39:44 U.S.-China competition in the UN Human Rights Council 
00:49:28 China’s alliance-building efforts to supplant U.S.-led multilateral organizations 
00:51:54 Biden’s inability to leverage American power in international institutions  
00:56:29 Closing by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti 

In this installment of “Countering Chinese Communist Party Influence
Around the World,” leading experts discuss China’s growing influence in
the Middle East. Vandenberg Coalition Executive Director Carrie
Filipetti speaks with Associate Professor of National Security Strategy
at the National War College Dr. Dawn Murphy, Managing Director and
Lane-Swig Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Michael Singh, and Craig Singleton, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies to discuss China’s growing influence in the
Middle East.
In this series, the Vandenberg Coalition shifts the focus beyond the
Indo-Pacific and into various regions around the world where the Chinese
Communist Party continues to threaten American interests. Each episode
in the series discusses China’s growing influence in a given region, how
it measures against American influence, how to define our relationship
with the region in light of competing priorities, and what America can
and should be doing to better protect and advance our national
interests.
00:00:00 Opening by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti
00:01:36 China’s response to Hamas’ attacks & the ensuing war in Gaza
00:05:59 China’s strategic loss of Israel after October 7th
00:08:17 CCP objectives for regional influence & supplanting U.S. role in the Middle East
00:15:20 Future of the Israeli-China relationship
00:20:18 Discrepancy between internal & external CCP statements
00:23:55 America’s evolving strategic role in the Middle East
00:28:20 China’s perspective on the Abraham Accords & eroding leverage over Iran
00:36:24 Tripartite dynamic between Russia, China, & Iran
00:45:10 CCP amplification of antisemitism via TikTok
00:50:15 False binary between the United States & China
00:55:54 U.S. Chinese competition in the Middle East
01:00:55 Closing by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti

Over the last few years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has increased its investment in outer space, a domain historically dominated by the United States. China’s space research and exploration ambitions threaten to undermine American interests in orbit and pose national security concerns for the United States on the ground. The Vandenberg Coalition welcomes Dean Cheng, Senior Advisor to the China Program at the United States Institute of Peace and Kari Bingen, former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, to examine this threat and discuss ways for the United States to effectively counter the CCP in outer space. 

00:00:00 Opening by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti 
00:01:15 Impact of space on American life  
00:07:16 China’s mechanisms to supplant U.S. dominance in space  
00:11:02 Implications of China’s development of counter-space capabilities  
00:14:35 Artificial intelligence & communications in space  
00:18:22 Civil-military fusion in China vs. the U.S. government’s commercial reliance  
00:25:15 Spectrum of American space defense capabilities  
00:27:09 Pathways for space classification, control, & cooperation   
00:30:50 Areas of American dominance & underdeveloped technologies in space  
00:38:46 Coordination between space companies, the U.S. government, & allied nations 
00:43:32 Policymakers’ complex protective mechanisms over private companies  
00:51:00  Biden’s 2024 space budget request increase 
00:52:58 Consequences of the limited legal architecture governing space  
00:57:01 Space as a strategic dimension of U.S.-Chinese competition  
01:00:35 Closing by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti 

In this installment of “Countering Chinese Communist Party Influence Around the World,” leading experts discuss China’s growing influence in Africa. Vandenberg Coalition Executive Director Carrie Filipetti speaks with Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board Members Amb. J. Peter Pham, former U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel Region and for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and Aleksandra Gadzala Tirziu, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. 

In this series, the Vandenberg Coalition shifts the focus beyond the Indo-Pacific and into various regions around the world where the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American interests. Each episode in the series discusses China’s growing influence in a given region, how it measures against American influence, how to define our relationship with the region in light of competing priorities, and what America can and should be doing to better protect and advance our national interests.  

00:00:01 Opening by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti 
00:02:09 Geopolitical implications of Africa’s economic, political, & population growth  
00:04:45 Beijing’s strategic aims in Africa 
00:10:37 Absence of comprehensive U.S. strategy towards Africa 
00:12:07 Africa’s evolving view of China 
00:17:30 Examples of African nations leveraging in negotiations with China  
00:22:30 African youth favorability towards the United States 
00:31:00 American diplomatic failings in engagement with Africa  
00:37:07 Prevalence of BRI in Africa & potential for American “strategic corridors”  
00:42:58 CCP “Debt-trap diplomacy” & avenues for U.S. alternatives to Chinese financing 
00:48:44 China’s strategic weaponization of Africa’s critical minerals 
00:53:58  Opportunities for U.S. engagement in African mining industries  
00:58:16 Steps for U.S. engagement in Africa 
01:01:37 Closing by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti 

In this installment of “Countering Chinese Communist Party Influence Around the World,” leading experts cover China’s expanding role in India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Vandenberg Coalition Executive Director Carrie Filipetti speaks with Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at Center for a New American Security and Nargis Nehan, who formerly served as Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum.  
In this series, the Vandenberg Coalition shifts the focus beyond the Indo-Pacific and into various regions around the world where the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American interests. Each episode in the series discusses China’s growing influence in a given region, how it measures against American influence, how to define our relationship with the region in light of competing priorities, and what America can and should be doing to better protect and advance our national interests. 
00:00:00 Opening by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti
00:01:26 Development of China’s recent interest in South Asia
00:04:19 China’s efforts to counter India
00:07:49 China’s engagement in Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal
00:13:14 Options for U.S. deterrence of China in Afghanistan
00:19:20 Implications of cultural differences between China & the Taliban
00:23:01 Biden Administration’s romanticization of U.S.-Taliban cooperation
00:28:57 Congressional response to the U.S.’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
00:32:31 China-Pakistan economic corridor
00:35:37 Beijing’s debt-trap diplomacy
00:40:39 U.S. policy options in South Asia
00:50:55 Likelihood of a U.S.-China proxy conflict in South Asia
01:02:50 Implications of CCP influence displacing U.S. values
01:07:17 Closing by TVC Executive Director Carrie Filipetti