China's Soft Power and International Relations

De-Americanising Media Studies and the Rise of “Chindia”

“…Would a Chindian development perspective be less aff ected by the colonial mindset? Already, in many developing countries in Latin America (Armony, Ariel and Strauss 2012) and Africa (Sauvant et al 2010;Cheru and Obi 2010;Mawdsley and McCann 2011, also see Chan, Lee and Chan 2011and Lai and Lu 2012 these debates have occupied policy and media agendas.…”

“…China is investing heavily in its external communication, including broadcasting and on-line presence, as well as in the proliferation of Confucius Institutes across the globe, part of Chinese public diplomacy (Kurlantz ick 2007;Wang 2008;Lai and Lu 2012). Chinese President Hu Jintao has stressed the importance of culture: "Culture has become a more and more important source of inspiration for national cohesion and creativity and a more and more signifi cant factor in the competition of national comprehensive power (zonghe guoli) and the Chinese people have an increasingly ardent desire for a richer cultural life" (cited in Zhang 2010, 383).…”

Chinese Soft Power in Africa: Case of Senegal

“…But what we want to do is say 'this is the issue, this is the challenge, and this is how it's being solved' rather than getting people to argue." [9].…”

Reinventing “Many Voices”: MacBride and a Digital New World Information and Communication Order

“…Another prominent, if less contrarian, voice to emerge on the global television news scene is CCTV News, the state-run Chinese television news in English for an international audience, promoting the Chinese model of development and legitimising China's global presence. It forms part of an extensive external communication-"Going Out"-programme launched by the Chinese government and estimated to be worth $7 billion: by 2015, CCTV News was claiming more than 200 million viewers outside China and broadcasting in six languages, including Arabic (Lai and Lu 2012;Zhu 2012;Shambaugh 2013;Stockman 2013). …”