China has increasingly turned to artificial intelligence (AI) as a critical component of its information warfare and intelligence operations, intensifying efforts to influence global narratives and extract sensitive information. Recent analyses and reports reveal sophisticated use of commercial AI tools by Chinese state actors to advance their geopolitical objectives.
A June 2025 report by OpenAI highlights how China leverages AI technologies to blur the traditional boundaries between intelligence collection and foreign malign influence. Chinese operators reportedly use AI to create credible online personas, including journalists and geopolitical analysts, deploying them on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to conduct covert influence campaigns. These actors generate tailored content, translate correspondence, and analyze data to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence, even reportedly attempting to influence or extract information from U.S. political figures.
This fusion of AI-driven online influence and espionage reflects a new level of operational complexity. Chinese intelligence targets key groups such as government employees, military personnel, and academic researchers to recruit sources under the guise of consultative relationships. AI tools accelerate and scale these operations by generating authentic-seeming content and communications, thereby enhancing both influence reach and intelligence effectiveness.
Moreover, China’s domestic AI governance also supports this dual military-civil fusion strategy. Since early 2025, regulatory measures like the “Measures for Labeling of AI-Generated Synthetic Content” mandate AI-generated content be flagged, reflecting a larger move toward centralized state control over AI outputs and data flows. This centralization assists the government in surveilling and shaping public discourse internally, while also facilitating powerful external influence campaigns.
Simultaneously, the Chinese AI ecosystem is facing contradictory pressures — on one side empowered by substantial state investment and policy emphasis on AI as a strategic technology, and on the other, constrained by increasingly strict government oversight to align AI development with the Communist Party’s political and security objectives. This environment shapes both the innovation trajectory of Chinese AI companies and their international engagement.
From a U.S. and Western perspective, these developments raise urgent national security concerns. An August 2025 report emphasizes significant vulnerabilities in protecting AI intellectual property against espionage. China’s leadership in the hardware supply chain and advanced human and signals intelligence capabilities pose risks of data breaches that could compromise America’s AI platforms. The FBI and other agencies continue to investigate and indict cases of AI technology theft, but these are largely reactive measures in an ongoing technological contest.
Experts warn that the use of AI in Chinese information warfare is not only happening at a scale unseen before but also with unprecedented stealth and automation. These operations can simultaneously shape public opinion, undermine adversaries’ social cohesion, and extract strategic intelligence. The blending of influence and intelligence gathering through AI poses a novel challenge that traditional counterintelligence and cybersecurity frameworks must adapt to address.
As artificial intelligence fast evolves, the race to secure and control these technologies is becoming a defining feature of global geopolitical competition. China’s strategy, combining cutting-edge AI tools with centralized governance to conduct hybrid operations, exemplifies the complex security environment that the international community faces heading into the mid-2020s.
Key Points:
- China uses AI to create online personas and content for covert influence and intelligence operations targeting governments and academia.
- New Chinese regulations aim to control AI-generated content and data flows internally, supporting both domestic censorship and foreign influence.
- The Chinese AI industry balances state-led investment with strict government oversight to ensure alignment with party goals.
- The U.S. faces serious security risks from Chinese espionage focused on AI technologies and infrastructure.
- Experts call for enhanced AI security measures and counterintelligence strategies against increasingly sophisticated hybrid operations blending influence and espionage.