Now over a decade old, the “Great Firewall of China” has been dubbed the world’s largest system of censorship. China, however, is no longer content to limit its reach to a domestic audience. Without much fanfare, the Chinese government has turned its focus outward, seeking to take its influence over the information environment global.
In her CIMA report, Shanthi Kalathil delves into China’s unprecedented attempts to harness the global information ecosystem, primarily through three avenues: shaping international news media, guiding the evolution of the global Internet, and influencing global culture through Hollywood. What emerges is an altered understanding of the ways in which authoritarian regimes like China can wield information resources as power in the global arena.
