Chinese Military Drills Double as Psychological Warfare Through Propaganda Videos

Commentary

As the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launches its 2026 training cycle, Beijing is pairing real-world military exercises with a coordinated media and social media blitz designed to normalize new weapons and project inevitability.

However, the campaign has failed to deter either Taiwan or the United States and may instead be revealing Beijing’s hand by exposing its assumptions, capabilities, and limitations.

Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said the military will study and implement Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s guidance by strengthening political loyalty; advancing reform, technology, and personnel development; and accelerating integrated military modernization through mechanization, informatization, and intelligent technologies.

The PLA began its 2026 annual training cycle on Jan. 4 with large-scale joint combat drills that integrated air, naval, ground, rocket, and support forces. The exercises emphasized rapid joint-force coordination and multi-domain operations. Training prominently featured advanced systems, including J-20 stealth fighters, Type 055 destroyers, DF-17 hypersonic missiles, and a growing range of unmanned platforms.

Ground forces, including units from the 79th Group Army, conducted live-force exercises combining reconnaissance drones, bomb-dropping drones, smoke-laying drones, first-person view loitering munitions, and robotic systems, reflecting the PLA’s shift toward so-called intelligentized warfare, in which unmanned systems act as force multipliers in close combat.

Many of these technologies were displayed during China’s large-scale Victory Day parade in September 2025. Still, the new exercises mark the first time that much of this equipment has been operationally deployed. The drills demonstrate that these advanced platforms have shifted from showcase displays to being normalized as part of regular operational training.

The PLA has also transformed its annual training cycle into a form of psychological warfare through polished video production and coordinated social media distribution. Chinese state broadcasters such as CCTV, CGTN, and the Eastern Theater Command’s official channels release highly produced footage featuring dramatic music, high-definition drone imagery, and computer-generated visuals designed to amplify PLA capabilities. The videos blend real exercises with simulated scenarios to convey inevitability and superiority, and are then pushed across Chinese Communist Party media and social media platforms.

The footage first aired on CCTV and was amplified through official accounts such as @ChinaMilBugle on X; military accounts launched on Chinese platforms, including Weibo and Douyin; and on international platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube in September 2024. The January training videos were released simultaneously through state media outlets CCTV, Global Times, and Xinhua, underscoring a coordinated information campaign rather than routine military reporting.

In December 2025, the PLA Eastern Theater Command released a short video from a drone’s perspective of the Taipei 101 building in Taipei, Taiwan, captioned, “So close, so beautiful, go to Taipei at any time.” Released during the “Justice Mission 2025” drills, the clip used tourism-style language and imagery to imply easy access to Taiwan’s capital, reinforcing themes of encirclement and blockade.

China has also circulated artificial intelligence-generated videos depicting robotic platforms, robot dogs, and naval and air assets converging on Taiwan, while CCTV footage has showcased counterdrone exercises and simulated battlefield scenarios.

Production of these videos reflects military-civil fusion, with state studios working alongside PLA units to ensure technical accuracy while maximizing emotional impact. In some cases, footage has crossed into outright manipulation.

One CCTV clip of December drills falsely claimed that a civilian aircraft over Taiwan had been tracked by a PLA drone, a claim Taiwan’s defense ministry labeled as psychological warfare. Such edits blur the line between reality and fiction, and are intended to undermine confidence in Taiwan’s defenses and signal to the United States that any intervention would be met by overwhelming force.

The impact of these videos on Taiwan is difficult to quantify. However, many Taiwanese view the Chinese regime as a threat, while the majority believe that the status quo should be maintained and a large percentage say they are willing to fight if necessary. Despite Beijing’s attempts at intimidation, Taipei held its usual massive New Year’s Eve celebration, suggesting that the public was not deterred.

U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the drills, saying that “nothing worries” him. The landmark $11.1 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, which includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, anti-tank and anti-armor missiles, loitering drones, howitzers, and military software, demonstrates that the United States was not discouraged from supporting the island nation.

The PLA claims that it could launch an invasion of Taiwan at any time, but this was not demonstrated in the training exercises or video footage. Questions remain regarding PLA integration and command and control, including whether the air force and navy can operate effectively under combat conditions, whether all systems are serviceable and capable of live fire, and whether they can withstand enemy fire.

At the same time, these videos provide valuable intelligence to the United States and Taiwan by revealing how China trains, what capabilities it emphasizes, and how it envisions a Taiwan invasion, allowing adversaries to prepare accordingly.

Some may argue that Beijing is pursuing a Sun Tzu-style ruse by deliberately showcasing one set of tactics while concealing its true methods for war. That claim is unlikely because armies must train the actual techniques and strategies they intend to use in combat. At present, it is unclear whether the PLA can execute under fire even the methods it is openly training, let alone an entirely separate set of techniques that have never been practiced.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.