Beijing’s blatant distortions of reality are rooted in Marxist ideology.

By Stephen R. Nagy, first published on November 26, 2025, by The Japan Times

Go to the publisher’s website here to read the original article.

Summarized by Probe International

Beijing’s manipulation of truth, rooted in Marxist ideology, creates an “inverted world” where aggressors pose as victims and facts are negotiable, argues Stephen R. Nagy, China analyst and professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University in Japan.

Nagy breaks down what he describes as China’s “inverted epistemology,” which he likens to the 1974 novel by Christopher Priest—a science fiction exploration of the nature of truth in a deliberately limited and distorted environment. China’s leadership, Nagy argues, has created something similar—“a reality where truth runs backward”—which, in the reality outside of China, complicates international discourse and requires a strategic response from countries like Japan.

Nagy cites examples that exemplify China’s use of contradiction to create the narrative, particularly in regard to its relations with Japan and Taiwan to oppose those countries’ security efforts in response to Beijing aggression. This inversion is rooted in Marxist-Leninist ideology, continues Nagy, where truth serves the Party’s goals, and concepts like objective truth are viewed as tools of class struggle.

The 2023 Fukushima water release is highlighted as one such example where China, he said, opposed Japan’s scientifically validated actions with unfounded accusations aimed at damaging Japan’s reputation and disrupting its economy. Nagy points to former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s calm, fact-based crisis management at the time, as a model of how to counter Beijing’s disinformation campaigns, a strategy Nagy stresses can succeed through clear, factual narratives without succumbing to hysteria.

Addressing China’s inverted reality, he argues, requires influencing its domestic environment through authentic engagement and alternative models. Nagy refers to MIT professor Yasheng Huang’s book “The Rise and Fall of the East,” in which the author critiques China’s education system for its rote memorization over critical thinking, leaving citizens ill-equipped to evaluate competing truths, further compounded by Document 9—an internal directive circulated to the entire CCP by the Party’s leadership soon after Xi Jinping took office in 2013.

Document 9 effectively declares an ideological cold war against perceived “Western anti-China forces.” Under the leadership of President Xi, the Party has sought to mobilize itself and the Chinese populace for a vigorous struggle against “Westernization,” which it views as an existential threat to its dominance. To that end, Document 9 rejects narratives that challenge CCP orthodoxy.

In the context of the Japan-China relationship, Nagy makes various recommendations to navigate this tension, suggesting that Japan should expand educational exchanges that foster dialogue, illuminating the reality obscured by Beijing’s inversion and entrenched narratives. Ultimately, asserts the author, confronting the CCP’s epistemological warfare demands patience and a long-term commitment to presenting reality and building connections that can penetrate China’s tightly controlled information environment.

Stephen R. Nagy is professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University. Concurrently, he holds appointments as a senior fellow and China project lead at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and a visiting fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs. The title of his forthcoming book is “Japan as a Middle Power State: Navigating Ideological and Systemic Divides.”