Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Director of the Asia Policy Program, released a report “China’s Foreign Policy Training: A Global Footprint” through the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In it, Greitens and her coauthors examine China’s foreign police, security, and paramilitary training from 2000 to 2025. Their research shows that a majority of countries in the world today have received some form of police or security training from China, giving Beijing a role in shaping the operations of internal security forces worldwide. Their data, which examine 900 training programs across at least 138 countries — most of which have not been previously documented — highlight the sheer scale and reach of China’s foreign police training programs. They explore how these activities fit in the broader context of Chinese soft power, foreign policy, and efforts such as the Global Security Initiative, as well as narratives that attempt to reframe the global conversation on what security is and who in the world is good at providing it.

Research for this report was funded partially by a grant to the Strauss Center by the Smith Richardson Foundation. Special thanks to The University of Texas student research team Bailey Crane, Kevin Lentz, Arianne Ohman, Anna Pate, Ryan Williams, and Liz Wong.

The report is also mentioned in The Economist article on “China’s creepiest export surge.”