1、 Introduction

The changes in the form of war after the Cold War have led to the popularity of the concept of "mixed warfare" in international political analysis, which has been adopted in official documents such as NATO and the European Union. The United States regards "mixed warfare" as a means to achieve its diplomatic and security policy goals. In 2007, the "Maritime Security Cooperation Strategy" regarded "mixed warfare" as a new way of contemporary warfare, and in 2015, the "National Military Strategy" believed that the United States would face "mixed conflicts". This article studies the theoretical development, logical mechanism, and practical manifestations of the United States' "hybrid warfare" strategy.

2、 The research context of the United States' "mixed warfare" strategy

At the beginning of the 21st century, the American academic community conducted in-depth research on the strategy of "mixed warfare". In 2005, James Mattis and Frank Hoffman first proposed the concept of "hybrid warfare," emphasizing a new form of warfare that combines conventional and unconventional military forces. The experience of the United States in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has prompted it to reassess its security environment and war practices, while the conflict between Syria and Ukraine has also prompted the ruling elite in the United States to reconsider the concept of "mixed warfare". The research on "mixed warfare" in the United States has mainly gone through three stages: pre theory, establishment, and development. In the pre theoretical stage, theories such as "Fourth Generation War," "Compound War," and "Three Block War" laid the foundation for the emergence of the theory of "Mixed War. In the founding stage, Hoffman created the concept of "hybrid warfare", defined as a new way of warfare. In the development stage, after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the research on "mixed warfare" entered a deepening period, the conceptual connotation expanded, and the research theme changed. There are problems with the research on "mixed warfare" in the United States, with unclear concepts and a focus on tactical aspects. Further integration of theory and practice is needed.

3、 Theoretical Framework of the United States' "Hybrid War" Strategy

In depth exploration of the theoretical framework of the United States' "hybrid warfare" strategy reveals the connection between the evolution of war forms and human reflection on war. The research on "mixed warfare" in the American academic community reflects the United States' recognition and strategic adjustment of national security threats in the context of global changes. Hybrid warfare "is a form of conflict in which actors mix different technologies and resources to achieve strategic goals, involving a mixture of conventional and unconventional operations, and expanding the battlefield to include politics, economy, diplomacy, and information warfare. The strategic goal of the United States' "hybrid warfare" is to disrupt the political stability and internal and external security of the opponent, and to strike at the opponent's cognitive system. Its characteristics include ambiguity in form, multidimensionality in action domains, and full spectrum of action methods.

4、 The Practice of the United States' "Mixed War" Strategy: Taking American Competition with China as an Example

The practice of the US "mixed war" strategy, taking competition with China as an example, demonstrates the transformation of US security and diplomatic strategy. This strategy breaks through the traditional boundary between peace and war, emphasizes the ambiguity of the state of war, and covers all aspects of combat such as political warfare, economic warfare, diplomatic warfare, and information warfare. The United States regards "mixed warfare" as an important tool for great power competition, especially in its policy towards China, shifting from "containment+engagement" to focusing on containment, and China US relations have entered a stage of strategic competition. The Trump administration proposed a "government wide strategy" towards China, while the Biden administration characterized the China US relationship as "competitive interdependence", emphasizing "extreme competition" and "winning over" China.

5、 Conclusion

Entering the 21st century, the characteristics of war have evolved, and hybrid warfare has become one of the main modes of future warfare, enriching the connotation of war but not changing its essence. The United States regards mixed warfare as a normalized strategic tool for great power games, emphasizing non military methods, bypassing the threshold of nuclear war, and providing new options for strategic games. The theory of mixed warfare in the United States is rooted in Western military theory and reflects the complexity of military threats in the 21st century. The development of new technologies is driving changes in the form of warfare, and the United States is adjusting its hybrid warfare strategy. The theory of mixed warfare promotes the evolution of warfare methods and provides new perspectives. The mixed wars in the United States are closely related to international conflicts and require policy attention. China needs to take measures to respond to the mixed threat of war from the United States, deeply analyze the laws, improve the theoretical system, strengthen the construction of the national security system, build a community with a shared future in the surrounding areas, and create a stable security environment in the surrounding areas.