China and Cybersecurity: Espionage, Strategy, and Politics in the Digital Domain

Chinese cyber espionage is commonly portrayed in the West as a major threat to economic and national security. From China’s perspective, the United States poses a major cyberthreat to other countries because of its outsized influence over the Internet, willingness to use cyber weapons against its adversaries, and exploitation of major firms like Microsoft and Google for intelligence. Mistrust and confusion have complicated Internet politics on both sides of the Pacific. To get beyond the hype, an understanding of China and cybersecurity requires a combination of international and interdisciplinary perspectives. This book brings a balance of technical, political, economic, legal, and strategic analysis by authors from China, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Even though the contributors to this volume do not always agree with one another—an important point in itself—they reveal underlying political and economic dynamics that will remain relevant even as new facts and opinions emerge in a fast-changing domain. This volume contributes substantively to our understanding of China and cybersecurity, both complex topics on their own, by exploring how China’s domestic political and economic system shapes its cyber activities. The collaboration also stands as an example of how Chinese and Western experts can work together to improve trust and understanding in an area of great mutual concern.