A renowned British magazine has been criticized by the Chinese public and media outlets after it called for Western countries to tackle China’s “sharp power” in its latest issue, a move that comes amid a recent wave of anti-China sentiment in the West.

The Economist, one of the most circulated English-language magazines, unveiled its feature article of its latest issue on December 16, in which it says that “if China does not seek to conquer foreign lands, many people fear that it seeks to conquer foreign minds.”

The article has adopted the conception of “sharp power” to support its argument, noting that the West needs to stand by its own “principles,” with countries acting together if possible and separately if they must to counter China’s influence. Raised by the National Endowment for Democracy, a Washington-based think-tank, sharp power is said to help “authoritarian regimes coerce and manipulate opinion abroad.”

“By essence, the conception of sharp power is an alternative to the China threat theory and the outcome of U.S. government’s fear of losing its grasp on global affairs. This may be connected to the West’s Cold War mindset,” Bi Yantao, director of the Center for communication studies of Hainan University, told the Global Times.

“For the past few centuries, the West had no rivals to challenge its dominance. Once competitors emerged, their mindset changed. The West’s bias and precaution against China are inevitable at the current stage,” said Jin Canrong, associate dean of the Department of International Studies at the Renmin University of China.

Experts noted that China’s countermeasure should be increasing cultural exchanges and diffusion, without paying too much attention to the groundless accusation.

“The Western world is good at creating new theories and concepts, which can affect policymaking and public opinion. This is what we should learn from them,” Bi added.