The Chinese Panda in Pursuit of Soft Power
The Chinese Panda in Pursuit of Soft Power
China has strategically used media to counter Western influence and strengthen its soft power globally.
During Xi Jinping’s era, Beijing prioritized the internationalization of Chinese media, investing over $6 billion since 2009. The methods China employed include expanding global state media like CGTN, co-producing with Hollywood, and using cinema to shape narratives. These efforts have enhanced China’s cultural influence and improved its global image.
China has begun using media as a weapon to showcase its soft power to counter Western propaganda and dominance.
During Xi Jinping’s presidency, China has seen changes in its media policies, focusing on tactics to shape informational narratives internationally. In this regard, the country has made significant investments in the media sector.
Therefore, since 2009, the Chinese government has spent about $6.6 billion to improve the country’s global image. As a result, various actions have been taken, including internationalizing its media and using cinema and films to promote its propaganda and soft aspects.
Internationalization of Media
In 2009, the Chinese government announced accelerated efforts to internationalize Chinese media, allocating about $6 billion in funding for the media sector. Subsequently, Beijing’s big four media agencies were launched on the international stage.
Later, when Xi Jinping became president in 2012, their institutionalization increased.
As a result, the largest Chinese state media companies began opening offices and hiring journalists worldwide.
For instance, CCTV, now CGTN, established an Africa office in 2012. It now operates six channels in 171 countries, broadcasting in Arabic, English, Spanish, and French.
Additionally, it has signed cooperation agreements with 70 foreign media institutions, including BBC Worldwide.
The same goes for other Chinese media. Xinhua News Agency currently has 180 international offices, even more than Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, and offers publications in eight international languages.
Similarly, China Radio International (CRI) has become the second-largest radio organization in the world, broadcasting in 65 languages.
In addition to expanding its media in other countries, China also conducts exchange programs for foreign journalists from several countries and organizes training for them in cities. Most importantly, the Chinese government targets journalists in developing African countries by hiring and training them.
However, the internationalization of Chinese media is not limited to this. The country has adopted innovative tactics, such as providing state media content to other countries at a lower cost or even for free.
For example, StarTimes, a Chinese television entity, offers cheap cable TV packages to 30 African countries with Chinese state TV channels. Additionally, Chinese companies have purchased shares in local media entities in other countries to disseminate their message and publish pro-China content.
For instance, a Chinese news agency, GBTimes, has acquired shares in radio stations in Europe.
Similarly, Chinese state organizations have purchased 20% of the shares of a South African media platform called IOL and have published pieces in support of China there. Likewise, Beijing has also begun launching bilateral cooperation agreements with local media.
For example, when Italy officially joined the BRI in 2019, Xi Jinping signed a series of media cooperation agreements with Italian media organizations, including the Italian state news agency ANSA.
According to the Jackson Art Association report, the expanding presence in Italian media provides Beijing with a platform to extend its official views while potentially hindering the emergence of more critical debates. Thus, China has also used this tactic to facilitate its soft diplomacy.
The Role of Chinese Cinema
China has also used cinema as a tool to enhance its image and promote its cultural diplomacy, aligning with the country’s going-out policy. According to the latest statistics, China has the most cinemas in the world, with 65,500 screens.
Therefore, it acts as a magnet for foreign companies, especially Hollywood, which seeks to earn revenue from screening their films there.
However, China has set a quota of only 34 high-cost foreign films per year. This restriction forces Hollywood producers to seek joint ventures with Chinese companies. This is evident from the fact that between 2002 and 2013, 41 joint films were produced.
However, in these joint projects, China always has the upper hand, influencing the exhibition moment in films while considering the demands of Chinese investors.
Additionally, China also influences joint productions by censoring and modifying scripts to align with pro-China narratives.
For instance, in one film, to satisfy Chinese censors, Sony had to remove a scene where aliens destroyed the Great Wall of China from the 2015 movie Pixels. Therefore, China does not allow sensitive issues related to the country, such as Tibet, to be portrayed negatively.
Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Center in Washington, shares the same view that in recent years, there hasn’t been a film depicting the Chinese Communist Party or mainland Chinese characters.
Effects of the Expansion of Chinese Media
Beijing resorted to various measures, such as internationalizing its news agencies, investing in other countries’ news agencies, co-producing with Hollywood, and censoring films, to promote China’s cultural diplomacy. But has China succeeded in achieving this goal?
Through the expansion of state media in foreign countries and co-production with Hollywood, China has been able to extend its cultural influence worldwide. This is clearly and evidently seen in the Global Power Index, which particularly positions China as a uniquely influential and highly impactful cultural country among other nations.
This ranking not only reflects China’s current position in global cultural arenas but also indicates the country’s high potential in the cultural field and its ability to attract nations and influence public opinion more broadly.
Similarly, the content control approach employed by China has not only directly affected the negative image and representation of this country internationally but also significantly impacts what is displayed within its borders.
This control plays a fundamental role in shaping cultural and social narratives within the country and is essentially a tool for creating and consolidating China’s cultural power.
Therefore, it can be said with certainty that China’s modern media tactics and communication tools have played a key and very important role in achieving the dual goals of the country’s cultural diplomacy.
These goals include countering the cultural hegemony of Western countries, especially the United States, while simultaneously preventing the process of Westernization within China’s borders, which could be dangerous for the country’s national unity. These efforts are also part of China’s overall and long-term strategy in the cultural space to maintain national unity and loyalty to the government.
In this regard, the cooperation and synergy of Chinese media with Western media, especially the Hollywood film industry, is considered a threat to American media.
These collaborations have helped China to become a strong and prominent player on the global stage and to take an equal or even higher stance against its cultural rivals, indicating the country’s cultural and diplomatic successes internationally, utilizing all modern tools effectively for its position.