Studying Xi Jinping’s manipulation of language is a disorienting mental exercise. It is nonetheless crucial since Xi and the Chinese Communist Party routinely co-opt and redefine concepts the West generally agrees on in order to undermine U.S.-Western prestige, credibility, and predominance. In Beijing, the meaning of words is shamelessly subordinated to the political, geopolitical, and military goals of the regime. Propaganda is a fundamental tool in China’s playbook, and the use of words as weapons is key to that effort. US ALLIES IN EUROPE EXPAND HIGH-TECH ECONOMIC TIES WITH TAIWAN CCP elites issue statements that sound pluralistic and internationalist, but they are actually subverting democracies, spreading authoritarianism, and orchestrating Maoist oppression and imperial aggression. Their rhetoric, full of verbal acrobatics, reverberates in mass media throughout the world. It behooves us to dissect and challenge that rhetoric, for China has powerful global internet, social media, TV, and radio platforms with which to communicate its message. A recent Freedom House report found more than half of the countries in a 30-nation analysis are experiencing a “very high” or “high” degree of Chinese media efforts and that the United States is a prime target. China’s web of information and disinformation, along with its campaign to silence and censor critics, extends from Asia to Africa to the Americas. What, then, are the key concepts the CCP hierarchy conveys to foreign ears, and how do Chinese leaders manipulate language to...