China Debates Soft Power*
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Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol. 2, 2008, 287–308 doi:10.1093/cjip/pon011 Advance Access publication 28 October 2008 China Debates Soft Power* Li Mingjiangy Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/cjip/article/2/2/287/377040 by guest on 02 October 2021 Observers of Chinese politics and international relations could not have failed to notice in recent years the upsurge of references in China to the term soft power. The popularity of this concept among Chinese political leaders, scholars, journalists and pundits has been striking, and its prevalence in Chinese media significant. Although soft power is arguably one of the most important aspects of China’s foreign strategy to have appeared in the new century, it is nonetheless insufficiently understood in the outside world. International political leaders and pundits have paid close attention to both the growth and practice of China’s soft power, and unequivocally expressed concern as to its implications. These reasons warrant a thorough exami- nation of the term. Knowing how soft power is discussed among the Chinese elite is a good starting point towards understanding the importance of the concept within China’s international politics. How do they understand and interpret soft power? Why is there such a strong and growing interest in soft power in China? What role do the Chinese elite assign to soft power within China’s international strategy in the new century, especially in the context of China’s rise? This article neither delves into the theoretical debate on what constitutes soft power nor focuses on China’s actual practice of it. Its purpose is to examine the overall understanding of soft power among Chinese intellectuals and decision makers and its implications as regards China’s international strategy. The scholarly community in today’s China has taken an important part in foreign policy making, and there are several channels through which top decision makers consult Chinese experts on à This paper was presented at the 17th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia in July 2008. The author is thankful for all the helpful comments received at the conference. Li Mingjiang is an Assistant Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. y Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] ß The Author 2008. 288 Li Mingjiang various issues.1 The current debate on soft power in China is unquestionably relevant to China’s foreign policy orientation in the years ahead. From a methodological standpoint, this article focuses on official docu- ments endorsed by the top Chinese leadership, articles in prominent Chinese journals and influential national-level media reports and analyses. The first section discusses the popularity of soft power in China. The second analyses Chinese views on soft power and mainstream assessment of China’s soft power. The third section examines motivations behind China’s keen interest Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/cjip/article/2/2/287/377040 by guest on 02 October 2021 in soft power. The fourth addresses major approaches proposed to increase Chinese soft power. The concluding section sums up the main features of Chinese discourse on soft power and analyses its implications for China’s international strategy. This study arrives at several conclusions. First, Chinese decision makers and opinion leaders have paid close attention to the progress of their nation’s soft power. Second, although Chinese discourse largely conforms to Joseph S. Nye’s conceptual framework, it is not limited to its specific scope. Third, Chinese discourse, unlike Nye’s exclusive focus on the efficacy of soft power in achieving foreign policy goals, frequently refers to a domestic context, evincing a mission for domestic purposes, although the domestic context is not the primary focus of Chinese interlocutors. Fourth, soft power, as expounded by Chinese analysts, is still a weak link in the country’s pursuit of comprehensive national power. It is largely perceived as a tool for defensive purposes such as cultivating a better image of China to present to the outside world, correcting foreign misperceptions of China and fending off unwelcome Western cultural and political inroads into China. I argue on the basis of these analyses that the grand Chinese soft power strategy is still in its embryonic phase, despite the painstaking efforts of Chinese strategists to devise proposals. The lack of assertiveness in China’s soft power discourse reflects that China has few political values to offer to a world still dominated by Western philosophies, and reveals that China itself is still undergoing a profound social, economic and political transition. Soft Power: Surging Popularity in China The term soft power frequently comes to view when leafing through official Chinese government pronouncements, academic journals and 1 For the role of the scholarly community in Chinese foreign policy making, see Yang Guangbin et al., Zhongguo Guonei Zhengzhi Jingji yu Duiwai Guanxi (China’s Domestic Political Economy and Foreign Relations) (Beijing: Zhongguo renmin daxue chubanshe, 2007); Hao Yufan and Lin Su, Zhongguo Waijiao Juece: Kaifang yu Duoyuan de Shehui Yinsu Fenxi (Chinese Foreign Policy Making: An Analysis of Societal Forces) (Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe, 2007); Chih-yu Shih, Reform, Identity and Chinese Foreign Policy (Taipei: Vanguard Institute for Policy Studies Publication, 2000); Xuanli Liao, Chinese Foreign Policy Thank Tanks and China’s Policy Towards Japan (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2006). Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol. 2, 2008, 288–308 China Debates Soft Power 289 popular newspapers. This is a clear sign that soft power is now a noticeable aspect of official and popular discourse on foreign policy and international politics. Soft power is no longer an alien concept to top Chinese political leaders. The political report to the 16th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress in 2002, for instance, points out: ‘In today’s world, culture intertwines with economics and politics, demonstrating a more prominent position and role 2 in the competition for comprehensive national power.’ The focus of the Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/cjip/article/2/2/287/377040 by guest on 02 October 2021 13th collective study session of the Politburo of the 16th CCP Central Committee on May 28, 2004 was on how to develop China’s philosophy and social sciences. The session took place two months after the CCP Centre had publicized the document entitled Suggestions of the CCP Centre on Further Developing and Boosting Philosophy and Social Sciences. Professor Cheng Enfu of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, one of the two scholars who gave lectures at the session, commented that the activity demonstrated the importance Chinese leaders attach to soft power.3 Media commentary echoed Cheng’s assessment, saying that the study session signifies the leadership’s will to accelerate the growth of China’s soft power from a strategic height.4 Party chief and President Hu Jintao made this clear at the Central Foreign Affairs Leadership Group meeting on January 4, 2006: ‘The increase in our nation’s international status and influence will have to be demonstrated in hard power such as the economy, science and technology, and defence, as well as in soft power such as culture.’5 Other leaders also frequently refer to soft power. Jia Qinglin, CPPCC Chairman and member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, delivered a speech in March 2007 at the fifth session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) 10th National Committee in which he elaborated on China’s soft power. The CPPCC National Committee held a special session in July 2007 on ‘cultural construction as the main approach for national soft power building’ in which Jia Qinglin urged Chinese officials to: ‘deeply understand the impor- tance of national soft power with cultural construction as the main task’, to meet domestic demands and enhance China’s competitiveness in the international arena.6 2 Jiang Zemin, Political Report to the 16th CCP Congress, November 8, 2002. 3 ‘Yi Ruanshili Tisheng Guojia Zhonghe Jinzhengli’, (‘Use Soft Power to Upgrade National Comprehensive Competitiveness’), Wen Hui Bao (Wen Hui Newspaper), June 21, 2004. 4 Yang Taoyuan, ‘Tisheng Zhongguo Ruan Shili: Jiedu Zhongyang Zhengzhiju Di Shisan Ci Jiti Xuexi’, (‘Upgrading China’s Soft Power: An Explanation of the 13th Collective Study Session of the CCP CC Politburo’), Liaowang Xinwen Zhoukan (Outlook News Weekly), No. 23, June 7, 2004. 5 Ma Lisi, ‘Guanyu Woguo Jiaqiang Ruan Shili Jianshe de Chubu Sikao’, (‘Preliminary Thoughts on Accelerating China’s Soft Power Building’), Dang de Wenxian (Literature of Chinese Communist Party), No. 7, pp. 35–38. 6 Pan Yue, ‘Quanguo Zhengxie Zhaokai Zhuanti Xieshanghui’, (‘CPPCC National Committee Convenes a Special Consultation Meeting’), Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily), Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol. 2, 2008, 289–308 290 Li Mingjiang President Hu advised the eighth National Congress of the China Feder- ation of Literary and Art Circles to give more attention to the major practical issues of cultural development and upgrading China’s soft power.7 Hu again highlighted soft power in his political report to the 17th Party Congress of October 2007, stressing the urgency of building China’s cultural soft power sufficiently to meet domestic needs and increase international competitiveness. Hu’s call aroused a new round of interest in soft power throughout China. Local governments and various cultural communities Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/cjip/article/2/2/287/377040 by guest on 02 October 2021 held discussion sessions on the topic, and ‘soft power and culture’ featured in many newspaper headlines in the aftermath of the 17th Congress. A People’s Daily commentary, for instance, proclaimed that China must substantially increase its soft power to play an active role in international competition.8 Various Chinese organizations and research institutes have followed up and contributed to the growing popularity of soft power by organizing conferences on the topic.