Victor Zhikai Gao[a] (born 1962) is a Chinese lawyer, businessman,[1] and academic who is the vice president of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization (CCG).
From 1983 to 1988, Gao was a translator for Deng Xiaoping.[7] He was also a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1989 at the United Nations Secretariat in New York. After leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988, Gao was recommended by Henry Kissinger to study at Yale University, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1993. Then he was a policy adviser for the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission from 1999 to 2000.[12]
In September 2021, Gao referred to the AUKUS pact as a "gross violation of international law," claimed that "Armed with nuclear submarines, Australia itself will be a target for possible nuclear attacks in the future," and referred to Australians as "brainless."[20] He also warned that Australia's moves towards nuclear-powered submarines would lead to the country "being targeted with nuclear weapons," in a future nuclear war.[21] Gao repeated his warning to Australia during an interview on 60 Minutes Australia television programme in November 2021: "I would say the AUKUS deal in itself by enabling Australia to build nuclear submarines will have one big consequence for Australia, that is, Australia will no longer enjoy the benefit and the very rare privilege of not being targeted with nuclear weapons going forward."[22]
The interviewer challenged Gao by reminding him that Australia was planning to buy nuclear-powered submarines and not nuclear-armed submarines, and asked: "Why should Australia then be a target of nuclear weapons?" Dismissing the distinction, Gao insisted: "Listen to me: the tubes in the submarine can be armed with both nuclear warheads and conventional warheads. Now, in the heat of a battle or in the heat of a war, do you think Australia will allow inspections as to what kind of warhead you put into that big tube? I can bet you, in the heat of battle no one will pause – and the safe approach is to target Australia as a nuclear-armed country.[22]
In October 2021, Gao claimed that Taiwanese of Japanese descent supported Taiwanese independence, and that after a PRC take over they should either demonstrate support for reunification in writing or emigrate.[23]Foreign Policy magazine considered this to be a call for ethnic cleansing.[17]
In August 2022, Gao argued that the "Chinese military's mission is to liberate Taiwan."[24]
Gao believes that any search for the origins of the COVID-19 virus in China are part of "a conspiracy" because it "existed earlier than the outbreak of Wuhan in other parts of the world, including, most logically, in the United States, centering on Fort Detrick."[25]
Peng Shuai
In February 2022, Gao claimed on the 60 Minutes Australia program that the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai could not have been raped by a CCP official because of her physical athleticism as a professional athlete and said that "she can defend herself in front of whatever man or person in China".[26]
In June 2021, Gao said that "The G7 and NATO have been distorted into anti-China platforms."[28]
Gao believes that the enlargement of NATO and potential missile defense system emplacements were the cause of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the South China Morning Post, "He said the same scenario could occur between England and Scotland, if a country like Russia wanted to deploy nuclear weapons on Scottish territory."[29] He has claimed that Ukraine joining NATO would "trigger armageddon."[30] In February 2023, Time magazine reported that Gao had believed that the Russian invasion of Ukraine would likely end in an armistice, with Ukraine not being able to win back all of its territories, and that both sides would be "shelving the disputes for future generations to resolve".[31]
In May 2025, following the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict and India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, Gao stated in an interview with Indian TV that “China is in the upper stream, India in the midstream” and asserted that it was not appropriate for India to interfere unilaterally with shared waters. He warned against weaponizing water as a political tool, stating, “Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.” He also advocated for trilateral cooperation among China, India and Pakistan to ensure equitable and sustainable management of both the Indus and Brahmaputra river systems.[32]
Victor Gao Line - India and the Ganges border proposal
In June 2025, Victor Gao suggested that China's border with India should be drawn at the Ganga (Ganges) River, to rebut the so-called McMahon Line that was drawn without any basis. This comment, quickly dubbed the "Victor Gao Line", implied that all territory north of the river, including Delhi and the Indo-Gangetic plains, could be claimed by China. The statement sparked widespread reactions online and in diplomatic circles.[33]
Water diplomacy and regional concerns
Gao has also commented on the importance of upholding international river treaties such as the Indus Waters Treaty. He warned against using water as a geopolitical weapon and encouraged cooperation between China, India, and Pakistan over the Brahmaputra and Indus rivers.[34]
↑ "中国国民党革命委员会北京市第十五届委员会委员名单"[List of members of the 15th Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee]. 民革北京市委. July 2, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
Crossman, Jennifer (2011). "Gao, Zhikai (高志凯 b. 1962)". In Zhang, Wenxian; Wang, Huiyao; Alon, Ilan (eds.). Entrepreneurial and Business Elites of China: The Chinese Returnees Who Have Shaped Modern China. Emerald Group Publishing. pp.40–42. ISBN978-0-85724-089-7.
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