While browsing the Al Jazeera newspaper yesterday, I came across an article entitled “Chinese media expands Africa presence.” According to the article, China committed 45 billion yuan ($7.2b) to expanding its state-run media in the African continent. Thus far, China currently provides news for mobile phones and broadcasting by the China Central Television (CCTV) station in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition, just this past month, China launched an African edition of its biggest English-language newspaper – China Daily. Before China’s great plunge into Africa, Africans learned about the Chinese mostly through Western sources.
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| From http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/201312071929822435.html [Colin Shek/Al Jazeera] |
Western media companies tend to focus exclusively on how
China is Africa’s biggest trade partner.
They frame this relationship in terms of China manipulating and
exploiting the continent. China’s
expansion into Africa however, occurs alongside a steady downsizing of Western
media in the continent. Now, why is this
relevant to my burgeoning study and exploration into the practice of Public
Diplomacy (PD)?
Well in the lexicon of PD guru, Nicholas Cull, the Chinese
have listened for the “hoof beats of history” and are leaping “at just the
right moment to catch onto its coat as it thunders past” (see Cull's Listening for the Hoof Beats: Implications of the Rise of Soft Power and Public Diplomacy, 2012). Cull uses this great imagery to describe the
importance of recognizing public engagement as a means to conducting foreign
policy in the 21st century – an unprecedented era in which
communications technology allows everyday people around the world to have
influence on world affairs.
Interestingly, while I believe Cull’s metaphoric description is
applicable to China’s actions in Africa, I do not believe it is due to China’s
willingness to engage in a two-flow model of mutual exchange, dialogue, and
cooperation. Such a model is often
coined as the “new public diplomacy” by scholars like James Pamment (see Pamment's New Public Diplomacy in the 21st Century, 2012).
Instead, I believe China’s intentions in listening for the
“hoof beats” harkens back to the old model of PD, characterized by persuasion
tactics and a one-way flow of information.
As Pamment explains, this type of PD is akin to propaganda (p.2). China’s state-run media operates
strategically with what news it chooses to report and how it chooses to report
it. In Africa, the strategic intentions of
the Chinese are to counter the West’s negative portrayals of the Africa-China
relationship. In the Al Jazeera
article, a researcher is quoted as saying that “China’s learning and realising
that the public and the world is going to be more sympathetic to a narrative
that they know.” China’s strategy seems even more calculated when we consider
the reasons why it chose its biggest English-language newspaper to expand.
China’s expansion into Africa is therefore a part of its quest for soft power. At the same time, we obviously should not be so quick to write off the existence of the “old public diplomacy.” The world is indeed changing. It is changing, however, without completely releasing its grip on the ways of old. Undoubtedly, clashes between “old” and “new” diplomatic agendas occur every day. I look forward to exploring them.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post. GIven my interest in China and prior research on Chinese soft power, I just had to comment on your post. I definitely agree with your sentiment that "China's expansion into Africa is... a part of its quest for soft power." Although the major investments China has made in African countries to relieve their debt and build key infrastructure projects can be seen as beneficial to the domestic development of those countries, the construction and implementation of such activities are often done with little consultation with the citizens of those countries. As seen with these projects, the Chinese media inundation that you mention, as well as the creation of Confucian Institutes across the continent, China's "influence" in Africa (and internationally) pays little resemblance to the dualistic and dialectic image portrayed in "New Public Diplomacy." Moreover, the centrally controlled nature of these activities further demonstrates the top-down feature of Old PD (Cull has a great chart dividing the characteristics of Old versus New in "Public Diplomacy: Lessons from the Past," p. 14, fig. 1). I look forward to joining you in learning more about the differences and similarities between soft power and the varieties of public diplomacy this semester.
Thanks!
Bianca Z.
Heather, you bring up an issue concerning China’s soft power and the image it maintains in the minds of foreign publics. What I find interesting in this case is that China is contending with a disconnect between its rapidly growing economy and its reputation. While it maintains the second largest economy, it is dealing with a negative public image in the international sphere.
ReplyDeleteBianca, you mention certain aspects of China’s practice of public diplomacy that exemplify a top-down, centralized approach versus two-way communication. As Cull emphasizes repeatedly, listening is important, but responding to the feedback is even more so significant. I, too, am looking forward to discussions on China’s public diplomacy practices and challenges, especially concerning their efforts with the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
This is a great post and discussion. It also reminded of an article I read recently here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feffer/china-soft-power_b_2519954.html, narrating the failure of Chinese soft power, not specific to Africa but to the Philippines. In the article, the author talks about how China's soft power is undercut by its showcase of hard power.
ReplyDeleteAll the points previously made about listening in order to persuade nations to agree to foreign policy objectives, I believe, relates directly to this. Whether it be China, the U.S. or any other country, employing "blind" public diplomacy will do nothing to achieve foreign policy goals. The narrative needs to be in tune with reality or else these programs will fail miserably, like so many have in Iraq, and like the above article illustrates with China-Philippines relations. Which is why it is also imperative that public diplomacy is included at the very beginning in the policy process. After all, actions do speak louder than words.