U.S.'s $1.6 billion anti-China bill sparks questions and criticism

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in early September to authorize the use of more than $1.6 billion in five years to counter the so-called "Chinese influence," sparking questions and criticism about whether the bill will work out.

The "Countering the People's Republic of China Malign Influence Fund" – funding media and civil society groups to spread negative views and opinions of China – was passed by a 351-36 majority and will require Senate and presidential approval to become law.

The bill includes cliches that have been cited repeatedly by the U.S. government in its recent reference to China, such as endangering America's national security and economic security, as well as undermining the international order. It also mentions the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other Chinese overseas investments as main targets to smear and slander.

Of the alarming $1.6 billion, Marcus Stanley, director of studies at U.S. think tank Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said, "That's a massive spend –about twice, for example, the annual operating expenditure of CNN" in his opinion article titled "House passes $1.6 billion to deliver anti-China propaganda overseas."

This was not the first time in recent years that the U.S. allocated a large budget for cognitive warfare against China. In the Strategic Competition Act of 2021, the U.S. Congress authorized the use of $1.5 billion over five years for a "Countering Chinese Influence Fund" to globally counter the so-called "malign influence" of China.

For many years, the U.S. government has used vast amount of resources globally to support so-called "independent media" and civic organizations, inciting anti-China sentiment due to a deep sense of crisis and fear regarding China's rapid development, Wang Yiwei, professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, told Global Times.

According to an opinion piece published on cri.cn, the U.S. is no stranger to spending money to manipulate public opinion, such as what was done in the Cold War period against the Soviet Union, and now when smearing China.

The opinion article also detailed three ways the U.S. uses its information war against other countries, respectively sponsoring an online army, funding relevant entities and investing in new media or social media.

An example of this was in May 2022 when a so-called independent media outlet in Zimbabwe was exposed for openly fabricating news to discredit the BRI at the price of $1,000 per piece paid by the U.S. embassy, according to the opinion piece.

Additionally, The Global Engagement Center – affiliated to the U.S State Department and viewed as the coordination center for America's cognitive warfare against countries like China and Russia – shut down tens of thousands of Twitter and Facebook accounts based in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest $1.6 billion bill undoubtedly further shows the U.S. determination to continue, and even upgrade its cognitive warfare against China. However, experts question whether these objectives will be realized. 

Stanley said in his article that the definition of "malign influence" in the bill is extremely broad. "For example, program funds could support any effort to highlight the 'negative impact' of Chinese economic and infrastructure investment in a foreign country."

Stanley also noted that it's still worth thinking about the consequences of the China-smearing information campaign. "They are of course likely to make U.S. protests against similar foreign government activities look hypocritical," he said in his article. "Beyond that, pumping a flood of potentially undisclosed U.S. government money into anti-Chinese messaging worldwide could backfire by making any organic opposition to Chinese influence appear to be covertly funded U.S. government propaganda rather than genuine expressions of local concern."

Unlike Stanley, Diao Daming, a professor of U.S. studies at the School of International Studies under Renmin University of China, noticed that U.S. Congressman Andy Barr, who proposed the bill, is a member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and China, which was established in January 2023.

Noting the U.S. House of Representatives is up for reelection in November, Diao said the committee, which has only been in place for more than a year, is eager to make political capital by handing over a "final transcript."