National Media as a Promotional Tool of China's Soft Power

Section: Foreign Journalism

This paper analyzes the use of Chinese national media as one of the tools for promoting soft power. The author examines the origin of soft power theory, its Chinese interpretation and emphasizes the differences from Anglo-Saxon and American understanding of this term. The author argues that this theory has become especially popular in the country because it matches the world outlook of the Chinese nation. Modern Chinese media prove to be a key tool in this policy’s implementation. Drawing on new technologies, they are quite successful in performing the tasks at hand. In particular, many large Chinese media produce content in English and increase their web presence, thus expanding the scale of distribution. Another powerful tool is Chinese cinema, which progressively focuses on promoting its own content in Western markets. The author comes to the conclusion that Chinese media effectively pursue soft power policy advancing and disseminating Chinese values and culture throughout the world, thereby shaping the positive image of the country.

DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.94128

References:

Alekseeva T. A. (2016) «Mjagkaja sila» v teorii i praktike mezhdunarodnyh otnoshenij [“Soft Power” in the Theory and Practice of International Relations]. (In Russian). Available at: http://c-eho.info/diskussiya/item/2575- (accessed: 6.10.2018). 

Bell D. (2008) China’s New Confucianism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Bojarkina A. V. (2014) Jazyk i kul’tura Kitaja kak jeffektivnye instrumenty «mjagkoj sily» v realizacii vneshnej politiki KNR [Chinese Language and Culture as Effective Tools of “Soft Power” in China’s Foreign Policy]. Teorija i praktika obshhestvennogo razvitija 12: 115–118. (In Russian)

Borisov E. G. (ed.) (2016) Soft Power, mjagkaja sila, mjagkaja vlast’. Mezhdisciplinarnyj analiz: kollektivnaja monografija [Soft Power. An Interdisciplinary Analysis: a Collective Monograph]. Moscow: FLINTA; Nauka. (In Russian)

Boroh O., Lomanov A. (2012) Ot «mjagkoj sily» k «kul’turnomu mogushhestvu» [From “Soft Power” to “Cultural Might”]. (In Russian). Available at: https://globalaffairs.ru/number/ot-myagkoisily-k-kulturnomu-moguschestvu-15643 (accessed: 14.11.2018). 

Budaev A. V. (2016) Svetlye i temnye storony «mjagkoj sily» Kitaja [Light and Dark Sides of China’s “Soft Power”]. Gosudarstvennoe upravlenie. Jelektronnyj vestnik. Vyp. 54. Fevral’: 106–129. (In Russian)

Demidov A. V. (2014) Ot «mjagkoj sily» k «upravljaemomu haosu» [From “Soft Power” to “Manageable Chaos”]. Geopoliticheskij zhurnal 4: 86–93. (In Russian)

Dolinskiy A. (2013) ‘How Moscow Understands the Role of Media to Achieve Soft Power’. Promoting Alternative Views in a Multipolar World: BRICS and their Evolving Role in Developing Media Markets. Berlin: Robert Bosch Stiftung.

Efanova E. V. (2018) Instrumenty «mjagkoj sily» vo vneshnej politike gosudarstva [Soft Power Tools in a State’s Foreign Policy]. Vestn. RUDN. Ser. Politologija 3 (20): 417–426. (In Russian)

Gan’shina G. I. (2016) Istorija razvitija politiki «mjagkoj sily» v Kitae [A Development History of China’s “Soft Power” Policy]. (In Russian). Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/istoriya-razvitiya-politiki-myagkoy-sily-v-kitae (accessed: 09.11.2018). 

Gilboy G., Heginbotham E. (2012) Chinese and Indian Strategic Behavior: Growing Power and Alarm. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Gorlova I. I., Bychkova O. I. (2015) Kul’tura kak «mjagkaja sila»: instrumenty i tochki prilozhenija [Culture as “Soft Power”]. Teorija i praktika obshhestvennogo razvitija 18: 268–272. (In Russian)

Hohlova E. V. (2015) Proniknovenie amerikanskoj kinoprodukcii na kitajskij kinorynok [A Penetration of American Cinema Products into the Chinese Film Market]. Magister Dixit 1 (17). (In Russian). Available at: http://rucont.ru/efd/285347 (accessed: 9.11.2019). 

Keune O., Frants V. (2017) Cinema as an Element of a State’s Soft Power System. Available at: http://www.madipi.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=430&Itemid=75 (accessed: 22.05.2018).

Lai Hongyi and Lu Yiyi (eds.) (2012) China’s Soft Power and International Relations. London: Routledge.

Leonova O. G. (2013) Mjagkaja sila – resurs vneshnej politiki gosudarstva [Soft Power as a Resource of a State’s Foreign Policy]. Obozrevatel’ – Observer 4: 29–32. (In Russian)

Leont’eva Je. O., Belokopytova M. S. (2016) Instituty Konfucija kak instrument vneshnej politiki KNR [Confucius Institutes as a Tool of China’s Foreign Policy]. Regionalistika 3 (5): 51–58. (In Russian)

Meng B. (2018) The Politics of Chinese Media – Consensus and Contestation. New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mihnevich S. V. (2014) Panda na sluzhbe Drakona: osnovnye napravlenija i mehanizmy politiki «mjagkoj sily» Kitaja [Panda in the Service of the Dragon: the Main Directions and Mechanisms of China’s “Soft Power” Policy]. Vestnik mezhdunarodnyh organizacij 9 (2): 95–126. (In Russian)

Nye J. (1990) Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power.

Nye J. (2004) Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affaires.

Naumov A. O. (2015) «Mjagkaja sila» i vneshnepoliticheskij imidzh Rossijskoj Federacii [“Soft Power” and the Foreign Policy Image of the Russian Federation]. (In Russian). Available at: http://www.perspektivy.info/book/magkaja_sila_i_vnesh-nepoliticheslij-imidzh_rossijskoj-federacii_20... (accessed: 01.10.2018).  

Nejmark M. A. (2014) Mjagkaja sila vo vneshnej politike SShA, Kitaja, Rossii. XXI vek: Perekrestki mirovoj politiki [Soft Power in the Foreign Policy of the USA, China, Russia. The 21st Century: the Crossroads of Global Politics]. Moscow: Kanon+, ROON Reabilitacija. (In Russian)

Noam E. M. (2016) Who Owns the World’s Media? Media Concentration and Ownership around the World. New York: Oxford University Press.

Nordenstreng K. (2012) The New World Information and Communication Order: An Idea that Refuses to Die. In J. Nerone (ed.) Media History and the Foundations of Media Studies. The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies. Vol. 1. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Nordenstreng K., Thussu D. K. (ed.) (2015) Mapping BRICS Media. London: Routledge.

Ponomarjov E. G. (2013) Zheleznaja hvatka «mjagkoj sily» [The Iron Grip of Soft Power]. Odnako 6 (155). (In Russian)

Shi A. (2005) ‘The Taming of the Shrew: Global Media in a Chinese Perspective’. Global Media and Communication 1 (1): 33–36.

Solov’eva E. V. (2012) «Mjagkaja sila» – instrument integracii Kitaja v mirovye process [“Soft Power” as a Tool of China’s Integration Into Global Processes]. Rossija i ATR 1: 85–95. (In Russian)

Straubhaar J. (2015) BRICS as Emerging Cultural and Media Powers. In K. Nordenstreng, D. K. Thussu (eds.) Mapping BRICS Media. London: Routledge. Рp. 87–104.

Sun’ Czy (2007) Iskusstvo strategii [The Art of Strategy]. Moscow: JeKSMO; Saint Petersburg: Midgard. (In Russian)

Thussu D. K. (2015) Digital BRICS: Building a NWICO 2.0? In K. Nordenstreng, D. K. Thussu (eds.) Mapping BRICS Media. London: Routledge. Рp. 242–263.

Timofeev O. A. (2009) «Mjagkie» metody mezhdunarodnogo vlijanija i transformacija vneshnepoliticheskoj paradigmy v KNR [“Soft” Methods of International Influence and the Transformation of the Foreign Policy Paradigm in China]. Vestn. TOGU 4 (15): 189–198. (In Russian)

Tkacheva N. V. (2018) Kitajskij put’ v prostranstve global’nyh media [The Chinese Way in the Global Media Space]. In E. L. Vartanova (ed.) Mediasistemy stran BRIKS. Istoricheskij genezis, osobennosti funkcionirovanija [The Media Systems of BRICS Countries. Historical Genesis, Specifics of Operation]. Moscow: Aspekt Press. (In Russian)

Trofimova G. N., Du Cjuan’bo (2016) Stilistika russkojazychnyh sredstv massovoj informacii Kitaja v aspekte ih «mjagkoj sily» vozdejstvija [Stylistics of Russian-Language Media in China in Terms of Their “Soft Power” of Influence]. Gumanitarnye nauki. Filologija 3 (39): 159–164. (In Russian)

Vartanova E. L. (ed.) (2017) Industrija rossijskih media: cifrovoe budushhee [The Industry of Russian Media: the Digital Future]. Moscow: Mediamir. (In Russian)

Vartanova E. L. (2018) Menjajushhajasja rossijskaja mediaindustrija: teoreticheskie podhody [The Changing Russian Media Industry: Theoretical Approaches]. Vestn. SPbGU. Jazyk i literature 15 (2): 186–194. (In Russian)

Vartanova E. L. (ed.) (2018) Mediasistemy stran BRIKS. Istoricheskij genezis, osobennosti funkcionirovanija [The Media Systems of BRICS Countries. Historical Genesis, Specifics of Operation]. Moscow: Aspekt Press. (In Russian)

Vartanova E. L. (ed.) (2019) Ot teorii zhurnalistiki k teorii media. Dinamika mediaissledovanij v sovremennoj Rossii: koll. monogr. [From Journalism Theory to Media Theory. The Dynamics of Media Studies in Contemporary Russia: a Collective Monograph]. Moscow: Fak. zhurn. MGU. (In Russian)

Zhao Y. (2015) The BRICS Formation in Reshaping Global Communication: Possibilities and Challenges. In K. Nordenstreng, D. K. Thussu (eds.) Mapping BRICS Media. London: Routledge. Рp. 66–86.