China's influence via WeChat 'flying under the radar of Western democracies

> At the higher levels, there's what Tatlow calls "elite capture" of German political and business leaders.

> One example is the establishment of the China-Brücke (China Bridge), headed by a deputy president of the Bundestag, the German parliament. Others on the board include the German representatives of Huawei and Alibaba, and representatives of other political parties.

> "They start out doing calligraphy or music, and suddenly there they are, [on] an all-paid tour of China, visiting AI installations or factories, and business development parks, and technology transfer centres," she said.

Thoughtful individuals embracing long-overdue geopolitical multipolarity? Impossible! It must be a CCP psy-op preying on naive professionals.

Stunning amounts of FUD in this article.

From my experience, there is a dearth of illegal content (e.g. illegal trading, solicitation of prostitution) and an unlimited supply of Chinese propaganda on WeChat. I wouldn't be surprised if the FBI was already monitoring communications and content being posted on there. If not, they really should be.

Baidu Alibaba Tencent Huawei

They are like China’s Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines in the .com Cold War.

India is banning Chinese apps like Tik Tok and WeChat, and Australia are floating the idea as well.

Cold War 2.0 bifurcation between BATH & FAANG.

But which way will developing world economies go?

Chaotic capitalist FAANG “freedom”?

Or BATH surveillance state moderators under perpetual Chinese CCP/PLA/MSS admins?

One Belt, One Road debt trap diplomacy may play a big role here on the digital layer.