China’s 2019 defense white paper: a flawed communication effort

On July 24th , 2019, China published its tenth Defense White Paper. Far from announcing an evolution of the Chinese military strategy, “China’s National Defense in the New Era” (新时代的中国国防) has two core functions: taking steps toward increased transparency by explaining how China perceives its regional and global environment; and halting the spread of the Chinese threat theory that fuels an increasingly virulent opposition towards China. However, China is struggling to convince on these two points: questionable interpretation of international tensions and partial analysis of the implications, lack of recognition of substantive problems, half-hearted transparency incapable of responding to the concerns of Beijing’s interlocutors. A critical reading of this document makes it possible to identify the main perceptions of the ruling elite.