Rethinking China’s power and influence: An integrated multi-domain approach

China’s rise is a structural feature of contemporary global politics. Yet how powerful and influential is China? Synthesising the two traditional but contrasting approaches to power—“power-as-resources” and “power-as-influence”—this study advances an “integrated multi-domain approach.” It tests two central hypotheses: first, that the likelihood of China mobilising a particular power resource against a target state is a function of its relative position within a given power domain; and second, that the effectiveness of China’s influence operations in a given power domain depends on a target state’s capacity to counteract such influence through internal and external balancing. Through case studies across four critical power domains—trade, currency, nuclear weapons, and critical minerals—the study finds support for both hypotheses. By extending structural realist logic from the systemic level to the domain level, this study provides a foundation for future scholarly and policy research on China’s power and influence across different power domains.