Chinese Thinking on the Establishment of Information Dominance

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is continuing its extensive modernization program, to prepare to fight and win "informationized local wars." Such wars are a hallmark of the "Information Age," where information is now not only the currency of international power, but the key to successful prosecution of wars. To this end, the PLA is intent upon achieving "information dominance," which includes electronic warfare, network warfare, and space warfare measures to establish dominance over the outer space and electromagnetic/network domains.

This presentation will discuss Chinese thinking on the establishment of "information dominance," based upon Chinese military textbooks and teaching materials. It will also address Chinese revisions in their military regulations, in light of the reorganization of the PLA and advances in certain aspects of information technology.

Speaker and Presenter Information

Dean Cheng brings detailed knowledge of China’s military and space capabilities to bear as The Heritage Foundation’s senior research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs. He specializes in China’s military and foreign policy, in particular its relationship with the rest of Asia and with the United States. Cheng has written extensively on China’s military doctrine, technological implications of its space program and “dual use” issues associated with the communist nation’s industrial and scientific infrastructure. He previously worked for 13 years as a senior analyst, first with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), the Fortune 500 specialist in defense and homeland security, and then with the China Studies division of the Center for Naval Analyses, the federally funded research institute. Before entering the private sector, Cheng studied China’s defense-industrial complex for a congressional agency, the Office of Technology Assessment, as an analyst in the International Security and Space Program. Cheng has appeared on public affairs shows such as John McLaughlin’s One on One and programs on National Public Radio, CNN International, BBC World Service and International Television News (ITN). He has been interviewed by or provided commentary for publications such as Time magazine, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Bloomberg News, Jane’s Defense Weekly, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo and Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. Cheng has spoken at the National Space Symposium, National Defense University, the Air Force Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies. Cheng earned a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1986 and studied for a doctorate at MIT. He and his wife reside in Vienna, Va.