China’s sharp power is a mixed security threat. With regards to the characteristics of its means, it is a new type of non-traditional security threat, but with regards to the object it intends to affect, the security threat of China’s sharp power is no different from that of traditional security. Furthermore, in the broadest sense, it can be regarded as a kind of soft power, with the coercive characteristic of hard power packaged within soft power. As for whether or not China’s sharp power represents a paradigm shift, further observation of its subsequent influence is still required. Great power politics and trap effects define the dynamics of China's sharp power. China’s ambition for hegemony is stronger than Russia’s, so to a certain extent, so-called sharp power can be said to be tailored for the rise of China. In practice, China has wielded its sharp power to avoid the traps of empire, but this has not achieved its desired effect. On the contrary, China has entered a negative feedback loop and has become increasingly reliant on sharp power. The National Endowment for Democracy’s proposal of the concept of sharp power is tantamount to throwing down the gauntlet to China, but democratic values are not a priority for President Donald Trump, and the international state of affairs is not conducive to the formation of a "Coalition against Chinese Sharp Power.” Thus, China’s sharp power is tied to the survival of democratic values, but a policy of ideological "containment" will not be easy to re-implement.

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