In war on disinformation, US may be able to work with China, State Department official says
- ‘There are necessary opportunities for collaboration,’ Elizabeth Allen, the department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy, says
- She acknowledges, though, that the prospect for disruption remains huge, given the growing sophistication of foreign state-backed manipulation campaigns
As the US battles foreign disinformation and manipulation ahead of its November elections, a senior State Department official said on Friday that Washington may have some hope of cooperation with Beijing that is largely unthinkable with Moscow, Pyongyang or Tehran.
Elizabeth Allen, the department’s undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, acknowledged that the prospect for disruption remains huge given the growing sophistication of foreign state-backed disinformation campaigns.
“China is manipulating the information space … they’re using information as a lever of their power,” she told the Council on Foreign Relations.
However, she added, “we find that our relationship with China is one that we have to manage to chart the future of the world in a way that is different and there are necessary opportunities for collaboration”.
“As we are on the one hand calling out manipulation where we see it, we also have a relationship in which we are managing it responsibly in terms of shared issues,” she added.
