De Gruyter Contemporary Social Sciences54 China And Its Embrace of Offensive Cyberespionage

The West is under challenge from the rise of China as a global power. Cyberespionage has enhanced China’s economy, military, and political influence, and it is now a peer rival to the American-led West across land, sea, air, and space. China can conduct cyberespionage on a scale that no other nation can currently match. Its Belt and Road Initiative is a modern-day Silk Route for both overland and maritime trade. Under President Xi Jinping, China is now much closer to parity in conventional forces should it begin hard-power contestation and enter the realm of ‘Thucydides’ Trap’; a belief that a rising power will challenge a hegemon. Chinese cyberespionage is a real long-term challenge to the United States and the West in general. This book discusses what the implications are and what might still be to come.