DoubleThink Labs, a Taiwan-based think tank, produces the ChinaIndex, a metric that gauges China's influence in 82 countries around the world. The think tank uses several criteria to compile its index: the economy, society, the military, law enforcement, technology, domestic politics, foreign policy, and the media.
The United States ranked 21st in the world. For each category, the index assigns a percentage. It is not to say that a percentage of 100% is equivalent to absolute control from Beijing, rather it is a relative metric used to compare different countries on the list.
Chinese influence in academia
The highest-ranking category in the U.S. in terms of Chinese influence was academia (84%). Many academic institutions find themselves highly dependent on China, including Confucius Institutes and CCP-dependent student groups have been established in the country. The 84% figure does not measure the presence of Chinese citizens in U.S. universities, rather it quantifies the overall influence of the Chinese on the American academic system.
Other high-scoring categories were law enforcement (40%) and society (45%). These figures are due to the presence of Chinese lobby organizations, such as the World Association of United Chinese, or the All-China Journalists Association. However, America was deemed to have low Chinese influence in regards to the existence of Chinese propaganda on national soil.
Other avenues of Chinese influence in the U.S.
As far as law enforcement is concerned, there is no counterterrorism agreement with the country, no Chinese patrols on U.S. soil, nor are citizens detained at China's request. But there are investigations into industrial espionage for the benefit of Chinese companies as well as the presence of Chinese criminal gangs operating in the country.
In terms of politics, there are some national representatives that have met with representatives of the CCP. There have been politicians who have received money from the Chinese regime, and there are U.S. cities that have partnered with Chinese cities or that have contracted Chinese companies to improve their public services.
Influence in the military
The aspect with the least Chinese influence in the United States is the military. The United States does not import Chinese military material, nor does it export it to China. There is also no joint co-production. The so-called People's Liberation Army, has not intervened on U.S. soil in in any activity of any kind, including humanitarian missions. There are no U.S. military forces that have been trained in China.
The only two aspects of Chinese influence that exist in the military are that there are high-ranking military officers who have spoken in favor of greater collaboration with the PLA or who have received benefits from China, either while serving or after retirement.
Pakistan ranks first
The country with the greatest influence from China is Pakistan. It is followed by Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, and Peru, which is the first non-Asian country to appear on the list. In the case of the South American country, the influence is greater in the media and social spheres. Rounding out the top ten are South Africa, the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Malaysia.
Australia is ranked 12th, and South Korea is 13th. Germany is the leading European country, in 19th place. The United States is 21st, and Panama is 23rd. Venezuela ranks 25th and Mexico 28th.
There is no template for Chinese influence
Min Hsuan-Wu, co-founder and CEO of Doublethink Labs has told Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty:
There's no one clear pattern for how China influences a country, but from the data we compiled, the economy isn't the determinative one. You can be economically independent but be tied in other ways, like with the military or a large Chinese diaspora that can be more influential.
A major goal of [this database] is to raise awareness around the world about the different aspects of Chinese influence and what that can look like. We've taken a much broader and nuanced look at what influence can be, which can tell us more about what Beijing is actually doing and the different ways it can apply pressure.
