> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://methodology.china-index.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Methodology in brief

## Key Definitions

* **PRC:** People’s Republic of China. We use this term and not China nor the Chinese Communist Party to represent the entire Chinese state.

* **PRC influence:** The power to affect the decisions of other countries so that they align with the cultural, diplomatic, economic, military, political, or social interests of the PRC.

* **PRC-connected individuals or entities**: Actors undertaking activities under an arrangement with; in the service of; on the order or at the request of; or under the direction of the PRC government or party-state apparatus. For the purposes of the China Index, PRC corporations, enterprises, and state-owned enterprises all fall into this category.

* **Indicator:** A question testing for the existence of an observable phenomenon of PRC influence.

* **Domain:** A specific area in which the Index measures the extent to which the PRC exerts its influence.

The data underlying the China Index is collected via Indicators distributed to Regional Partners. Eligible partners include qualified and nonpartisan research institutes, think tanks, community representatives, as well as civil society organizations and independent journalists.

Considering the challenge of collecting data on a global scale, the Index solely focuses on fact-based Indicators, which are framed in a way designed to avoid eliciting opinions, preferences, or judgements from respondents.

To minimize potential bias and inaccuracies, we ask Regional Partners to consult and verify the data with as many local experts as possible. Each response should be backed by evidence from at least one supporting reference; this supporting evidence is published as part of the China Index.

## Timeframe

Each Indicator accepts one of three kinds of evidence, and the period that evidence may come from depends on the kind. Case Indicators use the 18 months before the response is written, and never a case from before 1 January 2025. System Indicators assess a state that remains in place, so an older document is accepted if the system it shows has not ended. Diplomatic Position Indicators use the tenure of the current ruling administration. See [Evidence time periods](/2026/evidence-periods). For the 2026 edition, data were collected from January 2025 to October 2026.

China Index rankings are determined by summing the scores of all Indicators in the edition (99 in 2026) and dividing by the maximum possible score for each country, which varies as some Regional Partners may choose to skip Indicators in some countries.


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