2022 China Index Report
by Puma Shen, Lennon Chang, Ben Sando | 2022.12.08
Executive Summary
- The China Index allows for analysis via overall, Domain, and Layer scores, as well as Domain clusters based on a thematic perspective of PRC influence.
- Among all countries, the Domains of Foreign Policy, Technology, and Domestic Politics received the highest influence scores.
- The neighborhood of China, East and Southeast Asia is the most influenced region in the world. Central Asia is the second-most influenced region with high scores in the Technology and Economy Domains.
- Europe was the least influenced region as countries have marshaled regulatory responses to PRC influence.
- An analysis of China Index Layers found that scores captured by the Exposure Layer correlate strongly with the Effect Layer, while the Pressure Layer had no relationship to Effect.
- The result suggests that the extent of a country’s network connections with China—rather than the level of coercion a country experiences from Beijing—may have a greater bearing on the country’s enactment of China-friendly policies.
- Certain external factors predict scores of China Index data:
- Imports as a percentage of total imports has a robust positive correlation with overall influence scores — a result echoed in other quantitative studies.
- GDP, GDP per capita, and reduced corruption is positively associated with higher Pressure Layer scores. This may suggest that the PRC employs coercive Pressure influence when it cannot leverage corrupt networks to achieve influence results.