Going on the Offensive: Acquisition for Competing with China

Abstract

This paper argues that the great power competition with China should drive defense acquisition processes, and that those processes should be used proactively to compete with Beijing, not simply as reactive levers. This applies to the directions in which the United States invests: The United States should prioritize capabilities not only that defend against PRC capabilities but also that have the potential to generate desired effects on China. This proactive logic also applies to the way in which the United States times and signals its resource allocations. The US defense acquisition system should invest and message in a way that accounts for and targets the PRC’s system – to ensure that US defense acquisition processes not only support American positioning and perceptions of it, but also appropriately shape the adversary. Across the board, an adversary-informed, proactive acquisition system should begin from an understanding of China’s central planning system, and use that system both to identify PRC priorities, capabilities, and investments early and to time US responses to maximize strategic effect.