• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Yan Xuetong"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie China"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "U.S.-China Relations",
    "China’s Foreign Relations"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie China",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [],
  "topics": [
    "Security"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie China

U.S. Military Strategy on China

In an effort to justify high defense budgets and military supremacy, the United States seems to be making an imaginary enemy out of China.

Link Copied
By Yan Xuetong
Published on Jul 8, 2012

Source: CCTV

Speaking in Chinese on CCTV, Carnegie’s Yan Xuetong commented on the release of a report on the state of U.S. military power by the China Strategy Culture Promotion Association, the first time a Chinese NGO has issued a report on another country’s military power. Yan argued that the U.S. approach to security is through gaining a decided advantage in military power and that the U.S. Department of Defense needed to create an imaginary enemy in order to justify its proportionally high spending. The choice of China as an imaginary enemy, Yan added, can be seen as a reflection of the fact that China is indeed a rising power.

A link to the full report in Chinese is available here

About the Author

Yan Xuetong

Former President, Carnegie China Management Board, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy

Yan Xuetong was president of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center Management Board until June 2020.

Yan Xuetong
Former President, Carnegie China Management Board, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy
Yan Xuetong
Security

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Japanese troops take part in a counter-landing live fire exercise as part of the annual Balikatan joint military drills on May 04, 2026 in Laoag, Ilocos Norte province, Philippines.
    Article
    The Two Logics Driving Japan’s Security Policy

    Japan’s revision of its three strategic documents reflects an intention to keep the United States engaged in the region while Japan fills any vacuums of U.S. power to preserve the Indo-Pacific order.

      • Ryo Sahashi

      Ryo Sahashi

  • Lee and Lula walking
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Why Korea’s President Skipped Washington for Silicon Valley and Brasília

    Lee’s tour shows how Seoul is reorganizing its diplomacy away from Pyongyang and toward industrial networks and the geography of the compute economy.

      Darcie Draudt-Véjares

  • Port cranes at sunset
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Drone Attack on Egypt and the Widening Middle East War

    The targeting of Damietta Port appears to be more than a mere security message.

      Amr Hamzawy

  • Commentary
    "I Don’t Think Trump Wants to Pull America Out of NATO"

    Does Donald Trump want to redraw the map of the world? Historian and geopolitical thinker Stephen Wertheim tries to parse the logic behind current American foreign policy

      Stephen Wertheim

  • A visitor looks at a simulator for "electronic warfare" at the booth of German Federal Armed Forces Bundeswehr during a tour of the Hannover industrial trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering and digital industries, in Hannover, northern Germany on April 20, 2026.
    Article
    Generative AI and Atrocity Denial in War

    In the fog of modern war, generative AI offers every side a simple transaction: Trade documented reality for permanent doubt.

      Mahsa Alimardani, Afsaneh Rigot

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.