China pouring money into 'unprecedented resources' in disinformation, surveillance tactics, report

China's government is investing in "unprecedented resources" in disinformation, surveillance and censorship tactics to influence the worldview of the country, according to a State Department report.

"As the [People's Republic of China] has grown more confident in its power, it appears to have calculated that it can more aggressively pursue its interests via information manipulation," the report reads. 

CBS reports that China's state media has used some of these tactics to spew "anti-NATO" and pro-Kremlin propaganda after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

The communist-run country faces international criticism for such issues as its record on human rights, unfair international trade practices, spying on other countries and not condemning Russia's war on Ukraine.

"Russia has returned the favor by promoting PRC propaganda related to Taiwan and other PRC interests," the report  continues. 

A specific example in the report compiled by the department's Global Engagement Center showed that Beijing "heavily amplified" its own military messaging it took to protest then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit last year to Taiwan, as the island nation tries to break from China rule and align itself more with Western nations. 

"You can see a breathtaking ambition to have information dominance in certain parts of the world, crucial parts of the world," GEC coordinator James Rubin said in a briefing on Thursday. "That's the threat that affects our national security that affects the national security of other parties."