John Lee examines how China’s campaign of historical distortion is recycled on the public stage to justify Beijing’s increasingly assertive political, military, and territorial actions. Lee also outlines a series of targeted soft-power policy options that, if implemented, would openly and frequently challenge the historical revisionism Beijing employs to justify its hegemonic ambitions.

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Iranian workers walk past a destroyed residential building due to Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran, on June 13, 2025. (Morteza Nikoubazl via Getty Images)