Current US law contains vulnerabilities that the People's Republic of China's (PRC) can exploit for dual-use technology development. Narrative intelligence sheds light on indications and warnings that point to escalating PRC economic warfare through coordinated information operations. This narrative intelligence brief reveals key indicators of Chinese information campaigns targeting the technology sector and reveals manipulation techniques employed by foreign malign influencers (FMI) to affect public sentiment and national policy. EdgeTheory Narrative Intelligence platforms facilitate real-time analysis of such information operations and narrative warfare.
EdgeTheory identified two Chinese and FMI techniques frequently used for economic warfare and narrative manipulation. Firstly, Chinese state-owned media leverage a significant social media presence to amplify its narratives. EdgeTheory tools identified key sources and amplifiers employed to lend credibility to pro-CCP narratives. Secondly, non state-owned sources (including those outside China) tend to promote Chinese narratives through traditional mechanisms. This creates a dual-pronged method where official Chinese sources attempt to bolster credibility for information promoted on social media, while other sources publishing through traditional news sites both initiate and amplify pro-CCP narratives. Consistent reporting across these diverse, established news sources enhances the perceived credibility of their narratives. This convergence implies independent verification and reporting, rather than a coordinated effort. EdgeTheory Narrative Intelligence reveals such cooperative strategies as part of China’s larger economic warfare activities.
Current US tax law provides incentives for foreign companies to increase investments in the US tech sector particularly if those investments promote innovations that result in patents. The PRC’s Military-Civil Fusion strategy seeks to take advantage of foreign investment opportunities to develop and acquire new advanced technologies that can benefit the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and China’s overall modernization goals. To accomplish this, the PRC leverages the expertise developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that on paper operate as civilian entities but maintain communication with CCP and PLA contacts to share information1. Because the PRC invests in civilian operations to increase its national security standing, public opinion of such civilian enterprises is of utmost importance, and the PRC thus equates positive public perception with national and international security interests.
This incentive structure pushes the PRC to weaponize civil litigation to secure national interests while simultaneously aggressively pursuing information operations against its adversaries to maintain international information dominance. PRC entities strategically employ patent litigation to marginalize competitors. Evidence suggests this tactic has been employed following accusations of Chinese corporate espionage. The PRC leverages the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to trap US-based companies in expensive litigation and ultimately devalue non-Chinese patents while copying the technology for PLA use. The PRC further employs proxy litigation (corporate-funded litigation rather than explicitly CCP-backed legal teams) to maintain the facade of neutrality in corporate legal conflicts. These tactics have been used to poach fracking technology from small US businesses, giving China a strategic edge in critical mineral processing.
While China takes advantage of international systems that allow PRC entities to challenge and disrupt innovations in the US, the CCP maintains tight control over its domestic technology sector. Chinese patent law favors State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) by prohibiting companies doing business in China from pursuing international arbitration once internal suits have been filed. This contradictory arrangement—where China takes advantage of US patent law’s free market principles while maintaining tight control over domestic disputes—challenges the CCP to justify the distinction to foreign investors. Consequently, the PRC maintains an incentive to study and influence foreign perceptions.
Figure 1: FMI sources (yellow) and targets (red) from EdgeTheory’s NARINT brief on “Chinese Economic Warfare”
EdgeTheory Narrative Intelligence briefs on Chinese Economic Warfare automatically geolocate sources discussing economic conflict and patents and identify the cities each narrative emphasizes most based on contextual information in each article. In the above NARINT map, we can see Beijing is both the main target of narratives and a hub for initiating narratives abroad.
The heavy domestic focus as seen in the mapping stands in contrast to previous Chinese information priorities that have prioritized targeting international audiences. This likely indicates a heightened concern over how the international community views internal PRC systems and regulations regarding technology innovations and patents. As a result, intelligence analysts and audiences should expect to encounter an increase in Chinese information campaigns that focus on justifying and praising internal CCP regulations.
EdgeTheory identified that a large part of these PRC-centric narratives amplify the PRC’s ability to maintain significantly more patent applications than any other nation.
Figure 2: Annual patent applications by country
Chinese narratives promoted by state-run outlets frame this development as an indication of China’s technology innovation and global leadership. However, this chart does not speak to the quality or success of technologies being patented nor does it imply these patents have any real application to technological advancement.
EdgeTheory Narrative Intelligence briefs provide real-time sentiment analysis on top amplifiers. For example, our brief on Chinese Economic Warfare indicates “XHNews presents an uplifting narrative, showcasing how the country's international patent applications have surged, while utilizing terms like "global leader" to signify China's dominant position, which may evoke a sense of nationalism.”
EdgeTheory’s brief on Chinese Economic Warfare further identified how state-owned source ECNS did not employ hyperbole to promote pro-CCP narratives because it primarily targets those who are interested in economics and are more focused on raw data. However, this focus on data analytics does not stop FMI from employing loaded language which EdgeTheory briefs identify with live sentiment analysis.
Figure 3: Screenshot from EdgeTheory NARINT brief BLUF analysis header
EdgeTheory briefs update every 24 hours with new insights into the strategies and languages top sources leverage to push narratives on a variety of topics. The above screenshot demonstrates how ECNS maintains biases even though it avoids using hyperbolic language.
FMI deliberately deploy loaded language in conjunction with particularly important offices and authorities to boost their credibility on the world stage. One such target is the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations, which is responsible for “innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas travel safely to the market and improve lives everywhere.”
EdgeTheory briefs identified a spike in FMI narratives targeting China’s patent dominance and framing the WIPO as praising China’s leadership.
Figure 4: EdgeTheory briefs theme analysis indicating recent spikes
While FMI narratives on tariffs have been consistent since Trump’s inauguration, the recent spike since February 20 in narratives around patents indicates a recent event that interests Chinese actors. EdgeTheory’s brief uncovered a large-scale information operation involving numerous non-state actors and foreign-language sources, amplifying the narrative that leading in patent applications equates to global R&D dominance.
Notably, while the theme of China’s patent dominance is almost exclusively promoted by China-aligned sources, tariffs are widely discussed by Chinese, Russian, and Indian sources.
Figure 5: Top publishers and source alignment by country
Given this domestic prioritization compared to China’s allies focusing on other issues, a closer look into China's concerns and information operations is warranted. Below is a screenshot of the most amplified articles regarding “China’s Patent Dominance” from China-aligned FMI.
Figure 6: NARINT Mapping revealing China-centric narrative dominance
The above articles highlight key language FMI deploy to frame Chinese developments as dominant in the world stage, promoting phrases such as “high-value,” “innovation thrives,” “global hub,” and “lead in global growth.”
This language is then parroted across diverse amplifiers, including sources in English, Chinese, and Arabic.
Figure 7: FMI article in Arabic [translation: "In Iraq 8,000 patents filed by the year 2024"]
Figure 8: FMI article in Chinese [translation: "The number of invention patents in our country has exceeded 4 million”]
Both articles promote the narrative that increased domestic patents are an indication of technological innovation and global leadership.
NARINT mapping further reveals the extent of FMI narratives specifically targeting the WIPO and their global reach, primarily discussing the US and China, as seen below.
Figure 9: FMI promoting a unified position on the WIPO
These amplifiers, however, often leverage logical fallacies to promote international recognition. While increased patent applications are praised by the PRC, in reality, these patents reveal a CCP strategy to devalue and at times invalidate western innovations, and are not indicators of domestic technological advancements.
Figure 10: FMI framing WIPO as pro-China
The above article states that “China has become the country with the most international patent applications, meaning that China's sci-tech innovation capacity has made great progress.” (emphasis added)
The conclusion that China’s innovation is accelerating due to increased patent applications is misleading given the PRCs vast use of the US patent system to poach innovation from international companies whose technology is then implemented by PRC-based firms.
EdgeTheory briefs analyzed the previous 120 days and identified that the Global Times amplified this narrative in November 2024, stating that “patent applications recorded a fourth consecutive year of growth, reaching a record high of 3.55 million, with the residents of China, South Korea, the US, Japan and India being the main drivers of growth. Innovators residing in China filed around 1.64 million patent applications worldwide in 2023.” (emphasis added)
It is misleading to claim that “innovators” residing in China filed over 1.5 million patents, when in reality many patent filers are shell companies or antagonistic SOEs taking advantage of US-based pro-innovation systems.
Because State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are heavily involved in PRC technological advancements, Chinese state-media maintain a vested interest in promoting positive narratives. These sources leverage social media (mainly X, formerly Twitter) to drastically increase audience reach.
Figure 11: Top Items from China-Aligned FMI in EdgeTheory's NARINT Brief with associated amplifiers
Chinese sources also target domestic agencies to promote positive narratives regarding PRC policies and increase credibility with both local and international audiences. EdgeTheory briefs offer Geozone systems to limit intelligence collection to a specific time and region.
Figure 12: EdgeTheory Geozone tool to limit intelligence collection and analysis
By limiting regional analysis, intelligence collection can focus on key players targeting critical audiences. For example, notice the narrative slants and follower reach of sources promoting the Shanghai Intellectual Property Office.
Figure 13: Screenshots from NARINT Brief with emphasis on FMI amplifications and word choices
EdgeTheory Narrative Intelligence briefs automatically update every day to dynamically identify what entities FMI are focusing on. EdgeTheory’s brief on Chinese Economic Warfare identified a focus on the Shanghai Intellectual Property Office. These narratives highlight domestic Chinese advancements and praise local agencies while also including attacks against US intellectual property regulations—the very policies the PRC leverages to obtain advanced technology systems.
Out of all FMI sources discussing Chinese economic warfare and patent disputes, nearly all have been identified as explicitly or implicitly aligned with China. This could be interpreted as China being isolated amongst its allies in its attempts to manipulate the US patent system but the location of China-aligned sources indicate international contributions to pro-China information operations.
Figure 14: Country alignment of FMI sources discussing Chinese economic warfare and patents
Russia-aligned articles reveal an additional nuance in FMI strategies to counter the US. Top items seen below tend to admit that the US maintains significant technological advancement but also highlights China’s rapid application of AI to various sectors while the US government becomes muddled in bureaucratic entanglements and personal interests. Notable Russia-aligned sources focused on economic warfare and patent issues include Modern Diplomacy and ZeroHedge.
Figure 15: Top two Russia-aligned sources with associated top items
It is notable that these outlets primarily promote these narratives through traditional means but also leverage social media for additional reach. It is also notable that the more mainstream outlet (Modern Diplomacy) has significantly fewer followers on X.
Figure 16: Top two Russia-aligned sources X profiles with followers highlighted
Returning to China-aligned FMI, these attacks are further not only amplified but in many cases instigated by non state-owned news outlets outside of China. Narrative mapping indicates an Australian source is not only accelerating attacks but has remained more consistent in supporting Chinese narratives than many Chinese state-owned news organizations.
Figure 17: Screenshot from EdgeTheory brief indicating volume of activity by source
Because Age of Australia is so consistent, the source does not illuminate I&Ws regarding Chinese economic warfare in the tech industry. Rather, it points to a wider strategy that involves the broad exploitation of public sentiment to take advantage of free market innovation under the guise of consumer protection. Rather than focusing on responses to specific incidents, this source continuously promotes pro-China technology related narratives.
The top three items from the Age of Australia are indicative of this strong support.
Figure 18: Most amplified items from Age of Australia (retrieved Feb. 27)
These narratives identify specific projects China has undertaken to highlight as examples of total Chinese success. The unopposed praise in the above headlines serve as a clear indicator of foreign alignment. Intelligence analysts can use EdgeTheory’s aggregation in NARINT briefs to track source alignment and FMI strategic messaging and conclude with high confidence that certain sources are prioritizing information operations against various audiences.
China-aligned sources further attack US policies by highlighting mismanagement in policymaking.
The below article from China Daily claims the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is aggressively pursuing anti-China policies while at the same time completely failing in its attempts to support US semiconductor companies and the high-tech sector.
Figure 19: English language FMI promoting anti-US narratives
CCP municipal offices further promote these narratives in Chinese to their domestic audiences.
Figure 20: Article from Jiefang Daily, the official daily newspaper of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CCP [translation: “US trade policy hearing on China: a stage show by China hawks and a smokescreen of arbitrary behavior”]
The above article describes the USTR as a “so-called "useful" department" and accuses it of “weaponizing tariffs” and doing so unsuccessfully at that, “in reality, the department only plays a mediocre role, acting as a mouthpiece.” The CCP outlet describes the USTR as “a smokescreen for ignoring public opinions, being arbitrary, and using public power for personal gain.” It is “a political show” and “unable to objectively assess the public’s true views on US trade policy toward China because it has abandoned its independent nature and only blindly followed others.”
This accusation of ignoring the desires of US citizens is in fact the very strategy the CCP employs as it controls patent applications and continually favors SOEs over private sector innovators. With Narrative Intelligence briefs, intelligence analysts can identify these strategies and craft targeted messaging to illuminate and counter FMI narratives.
EdgeTheory’s Narrative Intelligence briefs deliver actionable insights to identify and counter adversarial narrative patterns and influence campaigns. By leveraging AI-driven narrative threat analytics and multilingual analysis, EdgeTheory empowers organizations to gain decision advantage in mitigating foreign malign influence and navigating irregular warfare challenges.
With EdgeTheory, Intelligence Analysts can monitor geopolitical risks, identify emerging threats from hostile state actors, and track how adversarial narratives are shaping regional or global stability. Utilizing multilingual narrative analysis equips analysts with a strategic advantage to identify risk factors affecting targeted audiences, gauge consumer sentiment on development projects, and craft aligned messaging with our AI-powered, context-sensitive responses tailored to resonate with diverse audience segments, enhancing investor trust and public engagement.
