What’s Changed About the CCP in the 2026 US National Defense Strategy?
China's first home-built aircraft carrier sets out from a port of Dalian DSIC (Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co.) Shipyard for sea trials on May 13, 2018 in Dalian, Liaoning Province of China. Getty Images
The 2026 National Defense Strategy reframes the CCP from a distant “pacing threat” into a hemispheric challenge, prioritizing U.S. homeland defense, the Western Hemisphere, and denial strategies that block Chinese influence in the Americas and the Arctic while maintaining deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
Antonio Graceffo
Author
Antonio Graceffo, Ph.D., is a China economy analyst who has spent more than 20 years in Asia. Graceffo is a graduate of the Shanghai University of Sport, holds an MBA from Shanghai Jiaotong University, and studied national security at American Military University.
