After a long period of engagement, the CCP’s sharp power has been increasingly challenged throughout the world, in part as a response to General Secretary Xi Jinping’s more aggressive approach. The openness of democratic societies that had often been a weakness exploited by the CCP has in this process proven a strength, providing resilience when fully utilized for research and outreach. As a result, the CCP’s sharp power seems to be generally on the retreat in open societies, focusing instead on countries and regions characterized by less openness and more opportunities for manipulation and corruption.