The content of this article cites authoritative information in combination with personal opinions for writing, the source has been specified at the end of the text, please know.
In January 2021, an anonymous document appeared on the official website of the Atlantic Council of the U.S. think tank, entitled The Longer Telegraph.The name seems flat, and the real meaning is long – it borrows the far-reaching “Long Telegraph” by George Kennedy during the Cold War, and this time the protagonist is no longer the Soviet Union, but China.
The report describes China's strategic logic in a calm tone: Not a short-term game, but a game of decades.
This report puts forward a core judgment-China is using the "Go" method to reorganize the world. Different from the linear thinking accustomed to in the United States, China is more like a sophisticated chess player. It is not eager to take a bite, but uses corners, builds momentum, and leaves blank to allow opponents to be surrounded unknowingly.
Although the word "Go" did not appear in the report, many analysts pointed out that, China's diplomatic, economic, scientific and technological, and cultural policies are unfolding in an orderly manner like a chessboard.
A year later, the Atlantic Council and Rodim Group released "China Path finder: 2022 Scorecard" to further test this logic with data. The report shows that China's achievements in innovation and trade have advanced by leaps and bounds, and the gap continues to narrow compared with ten developed economies.
In particular, R&D investment, export share, and transformation of scientific and technological achievements all show a trend of rapid growth. Although real estate risks, regulatory policies, and the impact of the epidemic have slowed down, the overall trend is still closer to marketization.
The report specifically mentions a warning message that China’s “slow” is a slow rhythm.U.S. tend to pursue quarterly profits, while China’s policies are more like a decade of chess.The Atlantic Council concludes: The United States is no longer competing with a country, but playing with a system.。” This sentence caused a huge shock in Washington.
Entering 2024, this concern is beginning to turn to a new field-information and technology. The report "Effective U.S. Government Strategies to Deal with China's Information Impact" released by the Atlantic Council in July pointed out that China's information impact strategy is reshaping the global public opinion pattern.
China no longer relies solely on the foreign ministry or state-owned media. Instead, through AI algorithms, short video platforms, social networks and public opinion infiltration, narratives are shaped in different languages and cultures.
The report rarely admitted that the United States is on the defensive in this public opinion battle. In the past, relying on press conferences and official statements has been unable to compete with China's "information ecology."
The report suggests that the U.S. should fundamentally change the way it responds, shifting from “government voice” to “system restructuring”, in other words, not to make multiple statements, but to redefine the underlying logic of information dissemination.
The Federal Communications Commission officially launched a procedure in October to try to ban Hong Kong Telecom HKT’s operations in the United States on the grounds that its affiliation with China Unicom America could pose a national security threat.
This is the first time the U.S. has integrated its communications infrastructure into its “strategic defense system.”", what is reflected behind it is the fear of the influence of China's digital network.
In a new study, the Atlantic Council once again emphasized that government propaganda and media public relations alone are no longer enough to deal with China's multi-faceted information offensive.
To truly counter-attack, we must establish a global information alliance-from algorithms, network architecture, AI governance to public opinion supervision, forming a complete closed loop. This marks that the United States has begun to regard information warfare as a strategic field alongside economy and military affairs.
Meanwhile, China’s chessboard is still expanding. From the Belt and Road Initiative to local currency swaps, to artificial intelligence and chip research and development, China has used a systematic approach to weave a global network.
Its goal is not to replace anyone, but to reshape the rules of order. De-dollarization, digital diplomacy, Confucius Institutes, port investment, every seemingly scattered action ultimately points in the same direction-reducing dependence on the American system.
The United States, of course, is also responding.The trade war started in 2018, the chip bill launched in 2022 and the Global Strategy Report released in 2023, calling for an alliance.Therefore, think tanks are clear that the U.S. response is still fragmented and lacks long-term thinking. , the United States 'strategic understanding of China "still remains on the Cold War template," while China has already entered the "stage of institutional competition."
Behind this competition are two completely different senses of time. China is looking at 2049, and the United States is still looking at the votes in 2025. The research team of the Atlantic Council believes that this time difference is the key for China to win the opportunity.
China is making simultaneous efforts in ports, energy, communications, data, artificial intelligence and other fields to form an overall linkage, while the policy departments of the United States are often incompatible, like a divided chessboard.
Throughout the case of the Middle East, China's strategy is in stark contrast to that of the United States.The Pahlavi Dynasty supported by the United States, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, and the intervention in Libya all ended in chaos; China was not involved in politics, but exchanged infrastructure, trade, and energy contracts for trust.
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kenya, and Brazil all occupy a place in China's chess game. This is not simple diplomacy, but an economic version of the "wired game."
Think tanks are beginning to realize that this logic is no accident. China's policy system allows strategic continuation, and even if the government changes, it can keep the same direction.
In contrast, the U.S. policy cycle is constrained by a dispute between elections and parties, and it is difficult to maintain consistency.This structural difference plunges the U.S. into a passive anxiety: it understands China’s approach but is unable to stop it.
In June 2024, the report "Strategic Chess in an Era of Uncertainty" proposed that China's strength does not come from military expansion, but from "strong power"-- A strategic depth built up with time, patience and resourcesBecause it is not quick to win, it is difficult to be defeated.
From AI information battle to “One Belt and One Road”, From energy ports to cultural dissemination, China’s chess system has spread worldwide.And the U.S. finally discovered that it was no longer a chess player, but rather the one who was taken away.The Atlantic Council concluded: “This is a battle of rules, not a position struggle.”
The chessboard has been made, but the situation is undecided. The contest between China and the United States is no longer a confrontation of speed, but a contest between cognition and structure. The United States used to be the rule-maker, but now it has to relearn how to move on other people's chessboards.
References:
Report: “Satisfied America is likely to lose to China in global Southern technology competition” April 21, 2025 Source: Russia Satellite News Agency
From "Internet +" to "Artificial Intelligence +" Towards a New Phase of Smart Economy and Smart Society Development, 2025-08-27