Beijing’s Blueprint for US Blackouts

The Invisible Battlefield of 5th Generation Warfare

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu wrote, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” This principle defines 5th generation warfare (5GW), a covert, non-kinetic form of conflict where global superpowers, including China, target an adversary’s critical systems—economic, infrastructural, and psychological—to destabilize without open combat. 5GW is about deception, disruption, and long-term strategic positioning, leveraging cyber capabilities, supply chain dominance, and information manipulation to achieve victory. The US power grid, a linchpin of modern society, is a prime 5GW target due to its interconnectedness and cascading impact potential. China’s manufacturing dominance positions it to embed vulnerabilities in the grid, enabling the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to potentially trigger blackouts at will, a chilling prospect amid rising US-China tensions.

The Strategic Benefit of Disrupting the US Power Grid

Sun Tzu’s emphasis on exploiting vulnerabilities resonates in 5GW, where the power grid’s disruption offers China immense strategic leverage. As tensions over tariffs and Taiwan escalate, a blackout could:

• Cripple the Economy: Outages halt industries, disrupt supply chains, and cost billions daily. The 2003 Northeast Blackout cost $6 billion in a single day, highlighting the economic devastation US Department of Energy, 2004.

• Undermine National Security: Disabled grids impair military communications, logistics, and critical infrastructure like hospitals, weakening readiness. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warns that grid disruptions could “severely impact” national defense CISA, 2024.

• Sow Social Chaos: Prolonged darkness triggers panic, erodes public trust, and amplifies societal fractures, a core 5GW tactic to destabilize from within. As General Mike Flynn noted, “Fifth-generation warfare is fought in the mind, in the networks, and in the systems we depend on” Flynn, 2023.

• Deter or Coerce: The threat of blackouts serves as a diplomatic weapon, potentially forcing US concessions in geopolitical disputes, such as Taiwan or trade policies.

China’s control over critical grid components aligns with 5GW’s focus on pre-positioning for maximum impact. By embedding backdoors, China could disrupt the grid remotely, embodying Sun Tzu’s strategy of preparing the battlefield years in advance. Reports of Chinese state-sponsored groups like Volt Typhoon, which infiltrated US grid systems for 300 days undetected, underscore this latent threat SecurityWeek, 2025.

Prime Targets for Infiltration: Solar Inverters, Transformers, and Batteries

The power grid’s complexity and reliance on interconnected components make it a 5GW bullseye, where even small vulnerabilities can cascade into catastrophic failures. China’s manufacturing dominance positions it to target three critical components:

1. Solar Inverters:

   • Why Ideal: Inverters convert renewable energy into usable electricity, vital for the grid’s expanding renewable sector, projected to grow 75% by 2025 (US Energy Information Administration). China manufactures about 90% of US-installed inverters, offering unmatched access for 5GW manipulation Wood Mackenzie, 2023.

   • Disruption Potential: Tampering could halt solar output, destabilizing the grid during peak demand. A 2024 Lithuania incident, where Chinese-made inverters were remotely disabled, demonstrates this 5GW capability Reuters, 2025.

2. Large Power Transformers:

   • Why Ideal: Transformers are the backbone of electricity transmission, with 30,000–50,000 in the US grid. Though only 1–2% are Chinese-made, their critical role and long replacement times (6–18 months) make them high-value 5GW targets Secure the Grid.

   • Disruption Potential: A backdoor enabling remote shutdown could cause cascading blackouts, as shown in Electric Power Research Institute simulations where a single transformer failure affects millions EPRI, 2023.

3. Batteries:

   • Why Ideal: Lithium-ion batteries, essential for energy storage, are critical as renewables grow. China dominates the market, supplying over 60% of US grid-scale batteries, providing a 5GW entry point BloombergNEF, 2024.

   • Disruption Potential: Compromised batteries could fail during peak demand, reducing grid stability. A 2024 CISA advisory flagged vulnerabilities in Chinese-made battery management systems CISA, 2024.

These components are ideal for 5GW due to their criticality, widespread use, and China’s market dominance, enabling covert backdoors like cellular radios to disrupt the grid on command, aligning with Sun Tzu’s tactic of targeting vital points for maximum effect.

Alarming Discoveries: Backdoors in Critical Components

Recent discoveries expose China’s 5GW tactics in action:

• 2025 Solar Inverters and Batteries: In May 2025, US authorities uncovered undocumented cellular radios in Chinese-made solar inverters and batteries, installed over the past nine months. These backdoors could bypass firewalls, enabling remote shutdown or manipulation, a classic 5GW tactic to weaponize infrastructure Reuters, 2025. The FBI warned that such devices could be activated “at scale,” impacting thousands of installations FBI, 2025.

• 2019 Large Power Transformers: In 2019, a Chinese-manufactured transformer, intercepted at the Port of Houston, contained hardware backdoors enabling remote shutdown. By 2025, nearly 500 such transformers were in the US grid, amplifying the 5GW threat Heritage Foundation. A 2024 DOE report noted that many remain uninspected, increasing vulnerability DOE, 2024.

These publicized cases likely represent only a fraction of China’s 5GW efforts. National security concerns may conceal other incidents, and undiscovered backdoors could exist in components like wind turbine control systems or smart grid IoT devices, which rely heavily on Chinese electronics Utility Dive, 2025. The 2023 Volt Typhoon campaign, which maintained undetected access to US grid operational technology for months, suggests additional vulnerabilities CyberScoop, 2023. China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017, mandating company cooperation with state intelligence, facilitates these covert operations, embodying Sun Tzu’s principle, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

A Disturbing Trend and Growing Risk

The discovery of backdoors in solar inverters, transformers, and batteries—three of the grid’s most critical components—signals a disturbing 5GW trend. The power grid’s interconnected nature makes it a prime target, as disruptions can cascade across regions, amplifying chaos—a hallmark of 5GW. As US-China tensions escalate over tariffs and Taiwan, the risk of a state-sponsored cyber-physical attack grows. A coordinated activation of these backdoors could plunge the US into darkness, with catastrophic economic, security, and societal impacts. CISA’s 2024 advisory warned that Chinese actors like Volt Typhoon could cause “catastrophic consequences” through persistent grid access CISA, 2024. The increasing reliance on Chinese-made components, driven by cost and supply chain constraints, heightens this vulnerability, aligning with 5GW’s strategy of exploiting systemic dependencies.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

China’s infiltration of the US power grid through backdoors in critical components embodies Sun Tzu’s Art of War in the 5th generation era. The grid’s centrality to modern life makes it a prime 5GW target, where covert vulnerabilities could unleash chaos without a shot fired. The discoveries in solar inverters, transformers, and batteries, combined with undetected threats, underscore the urgency. As tensions with the CCP escalate, the US must act swiftly—diversifying supply chains, mandating rigorous inspections, and investing in domestic manufacturing. Enhanced cybersecurity measures, such as zero-trust architectures and supply chain audits, are critical NIST, 2024. As Sun Tzu warned, “If you are not impressed with the picture of the enemy, you are far from being ready.” The time to secure the grid is now, before China’s 5GW preparations cast the nation into darkness.