Our picks: China watchBeijing Getting Better at Disinformation |China Wants to Dominate Antarctica | China”s Alliance of Autocracies, and more

Beijing Is Getting Better at Disinformation on Global Social Media  (Sarah Cook, The Diplomat)
Its networks are resisting takedown efforts and gaining traction among real users.

Communist Chinese Military Companies and Section 1237: A Primer  (Jordan Brunner, Lawfare)
In recent months, two Chinese companies have filed lawsuits contesting their designation as “Communist Chinese military companies” (CCMCs) by the Department of Defense. Xiaomi and Luokung Technology have filed proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Defense and Treasury departments for alleged violations of their due process rights. On March 12, Judge Rudolph Contreras of the D.C. District Court granted Xiaomi a preliminary injunction against their designation.
These companies have been “blacklisted” under Section 1237 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 1999, as amended. This post provides background on Section 1237, examines the current state of play, and assesses the ongoing legal battle between the U.S. government and the companies over the CCMC label and its accompanying consequences. 

Can the Quad Transform into an Alliance to Contain China? (James Holmes, National Interest)
Whither the “Quad”? Is the Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue—a loose grouping of likeminded Indo-Pacific nations—a military coalition in the making?

China’s Next Geopolitical Goal: Dominate Antarctica  (Alexander B. Gray, National Interest)
The Biden administration has an opportunity to push back against China’s ambitions in the Antarctic and affirm the international institutions that it has promised to revive.

What the Chinese Communist Party Wants from the United Kingdom  (Council on Geostrategy)
The recent ‘Integrated Review’ described China’s increasing power and international assertiveness as ‘likely to be the most significant geopolitical factor of the 2020s.’ That underlines the lack of a British strategy for China. A prerequisite for a strategy is a clear idea not just of one’s own interests, but also of those of the other side. This paper sets out the approach of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards the United Kingdom (UK).
For the CCP, foreign policy must closely serve its main interest, which is to stay in power. To promote that, broadly it relies on two strategies, the use of its economic heft in a ‘stick and carrot’ approach and the application of a ‘united front strategy’, which divides others into the enemy, the neutral and the friendly, and seeks to isolate the main enemy (America), and to move other potentially hostile entities (such as the UK) to a neutral, or preferably a friendly, position. These strategies are supported by well-funded external propaganda which promotes a narrative of the inevitable and irresistible rise of China.

An Alliance of Autocracies? China Wants to Lead a New World Order.  (Steven Lee Myers, New York Times)
As President Biden predicts a struggle between democracies and their opponents, Beijing is eager to champion the other side.

China Denounced over “Grave Threat to Academic Freedom”  (Charlie Parker, The Times)
Hundreds of scholars have co-ordinated an international “fightback” against China for sanctioning a British academic who spoke out against the communist regime’s human rights abuses, The Times can reveal.
More than 400 academics around the world have united behind Joanne Smith Finley, of Newcastle University, after the Chinese Communist Party took the “unprecedented step” of banning her from entering China and working with its institutions.

America Losing the Future to China  (Brandon J. Weichert, Asia Times)
If US inattention to R&D continues to abet China’s rise to high-tech dominance, Beijing’s military threat will grow as well

Facebook Finds Chinese Hacking Operation Targeting Uyghurs  (AP / ABC News)
Facebook says hackers in China used fake accounts and impostor websites in a bid to break into the phones of Uyghur Muslims