Chapter III China’s Cultural Soft Power Strategy and the Confucius
3.3 Confucius Institutes’ approaches to disseminate cultural soft power
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assistant professor from China, it is not easy to recruit qualified local teachers to teach CI courses. China has to dispatch teachers abroad. However, such teachers are in short supply, as experienced teachers in his university might not be willing to leave their families to work abroad because of a low pay.93 2) Materials’ inability to meet local needs. Hanban had originally planned to use the textbooks published in China. However, this strategy was met with resistance because many textbooks were developed with a
“one-size-fits-all” mentality and did not take into account cultural differences. The materials do not attract many readers, and textual resources also lack local sensitivity. For example, teaching materials in Russia were found to be unhelpful because they had been translated inaccurately. In the UK, teaching materials were described as awkward.94 In response to these challenges, Hanban has implemented measures such as developing guidelines for the global promotion of language and culture; enhancing teacher training both at home and abroad; and localizing the supply of language instructors.
3.3 Confucius Institutes’ approaches to disseminate cultural soft power Chinese strategists believe that cultural soft power is an important indicator of a state’s global status. A world power should also be a major cultural hub whose ideas, social life, and beliefs are appealing to people of other countries.95 Chinese official apparatus has campaigned cultural attractiveness with tremendous efforts. They are administrative organs responsible for the implementation of the cultural policies.96 The CI project can be seen as an intricate soft power using varied techniques, such as language and cultural events as a peaceful means to exert China’s influence abroad. The
93 Interviewee 4.
94 Ibid., p.5.
95 Li, “China Debates Soft Power,” p. 299.
96 Liu, Cultural Policy in the People’s Republic of China: Letting a hundred flowers blossom, pp. 27-28.
The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Radio and Television, and the Xinhua News Agency are all government organizations in charge of cultural undertakings under the State Council. Please see Bai Liu, Cultural Policy in the People’s Republic of China: Letting a hundred flowers blossom, pp. 30-31.
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CI serves as a Chinese ambassador to build the cultural values of a “harmonious world”
as well as to enhance international affinity.97 3.3.1 Expansion of Chinese culture
Beijing has outlined approaches to boost foreign cultural exchanges and the influence of Chinese culture through CIs. In 2006, the State Council adopted the Outline of the National Plan for Cultural Development during the 11th Five Year Plan. The plan laid out a “go-out” strategy to ratchet up the competitiveness and influence of cultural products abroad. The major policies the document proposed were to promote global understanding of Chinese culture, to participate in international decision-making to endorse China’s discourse rights, and to cultivate global sales networks for Chinese cultural products.98 The Outline of the Cultural Reform and Development Plan during the National 12th Five Year Plan Period, released in 2012, further stated that culture is becoming an increasingly important source for national cohesion and creativity. The section of “Strengthening foreign cultural exchange and cooperation” emphasized accelerating the construction of overseas Chinese cultural centers and CIs. Beijing would support cultural enterprises to launch international service sourcing and to produce cultural products for foreign demand.99 Beijing has allocated significant funds for and engaged cultural exchanges abroad.100 In recent years, the total monetary output of
97 Pan, “The Confucius Institute Project: China’s Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power Projection,” p. 29.
98 Li, “China Debates Soft Power,” p. 303.
99 “Outline of the Cultural Reform and Development Plan during the National “12th Five Year Plan” Period, China Copyright and Media, February 16, 2012,
<http://chinacopyrightandmedia.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/outline-of-the-cultural-reform-and-develop ment-plan-during-the-national-12th-five-year-plan-period/.>( accessed Feb 2, 2015).
100 Efforts include participation in the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development in 1998, the 1999 Paris China Culture Week, the 2000 U.S. Tour of Chinese Culture, the China Festival at the Asia-Pacific Week in 2001 in Berlin, the Chinese year in France from October 2003 to July 2004, the 6th Asian arts festival, the Chinese cultural tour in Africa, the year of Russia in China in 2006, and the year of China in Russia in 2007. It has been stressed that the Chinese diasporas throughout the world is a good platform for promoting Chinese culture. Please see Li, “China Debates Soft Power,” pp. 303-304.
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cultural industries account for 2.75 percent of GDP.101 With the financial support from the government, the cultural communities held many meetings on the cultural issues.102 Research institutes have also contributed to the growing popularity of cultural soft power by holding conferences.103 Chinese traditional heritage is marketed abroad as part of a series of “Year of China” festivals staged in several countries.104 For cultural officials, the competition of cultural power is the core of soft power contention.
As Minister of Culture Cai Wu indicated, China needs to be more comprehensive in presenting the positive side of China. Many temples have been restored in China and Confucius venerated. In 2010 the film Confucius packed movie theaters. A statue of Confucius was erected on Tiananmen Square in 2011. The State Council Information Office has been involved in staging exhibitions abroad. The largest scale in the history of World Expos (2010) showcased Shanghai along with the best aspects of urban planning, architecture, and the arts. Beijing spent $45 billion in preparation for the half-year event that attracted 73 million people worldwide.105 A more impressive example of China showcasing itself to the world was the 2008 Olympic Games, at which China’s athletes won the most gold medals.106 The Chinese government has attempted to actively market its cultural footprint around the world.
The CI involves engaging with foreign local communities to promote Chinese
101 Shambaugh, China Goes Global, pp. 207-208.
102 Li, “China Debates Soft Power,” p. 290.
103 For example, China Foreign Languages Bureau hosted a forum on “trans-cultural communications and soft power building” in August 2006, and the International Public Relations Research Center at Fudan University sponsored a forum in early 2007 on “national soft power construction and the development of China’s public relations.” Please see Li, “China Debates Soft Power,” p. 290.
104 For example, over 200,000 people attended the 2006 Chinese New Year celebrations in London. The October 2009 to February 2010 “Europalia-China Arts Festival,” which traveled through Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Luxembourg, included presentations by artists and performers; and organized exhibitions. Please see Liu, External Communication as a Vehicle for Disseminating Soft Power: A Study of China’s Efforts to Strengthen its Cultural Soft Power in the Era of Globalization, p.28.
105 Shambaugh, China Goes Global, pp. 239-240.
106 Ibid., p. 241.
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culture as represented by Chinese medicine, Kongfu, calligraphy, cuisine, etc. These events aim to tap into the cultural function of CIs, to enhance cultural influence in local communities, and to understand China.107 Through the co-establishment with foreign countries, the CI can expand the boundaries of Chinese culture and increase interaction with the people of its host country. Such cooperation is conducive to China’s cultural diplomacy.108 The CIs are perceived as a way to soften China’s global image, although some concerns have been raised about the cost and transparency of the initiative.109
3.3.2 Cultivation of Chinese higher education
Higher education is a conveyor of cultural soft power and has been a key component of China to capitalize on their universities’ prestige to attract foreign elites. The numbers of foreign students coming to study in Chinese universities continue to rise. In the 2010-11 academic year, 265,090 foreign students studied in China. During President Obama’s visit to China in November 2009, he announced that the U.S. had set a goal of sending 100,000 students to China over the next five years. Beijing has also increased the number of 17,500 scholarships for 2009-10. In May 2010 China announced it would provide 100,000 scholarships for U.S. students. Such programs provide great value for foreign students to become familiar with Chinese customs and values.110 China is making a major investment in higher education with the aim of improving both innovation at home and competitiveness abroad. The Ministry of Education attempts to create world-class universities in China. In October 2009, nine leading universities combined to form so-called the “C9” (China Nine). In his 2010 work report to the National People
107 Pan, “The Confucius Institute project: China’s cultural diplomacy and soft power projection,” p. 28.
108 Tong Zhou, “Kongzi Xueyuan De Fazhan Dui Zhongguo Wenhua Ruanshili De Yingxiang” (The Impact of China’s Cultural Soft Power by the Development of Confucius Institute), Popular Science, Vol. 15, No. 163 (March 2013).
109 Wang and Adamson, “War and Peace: Perceptions of Confucius Institutes in China and USA,” pp.
225-234.
110 Shambaugh, China Goes Global, pp. 241-242.
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Council, Premier Wen said that this target educational investment is meant to make China a global leader in technological high grounds.111 Some elite universities aim at moving up the global rankings. For example, the World University Rankings for 2012-13 ranked the University of Hong Kong 35th, Peking University 46th, and Tsinghua University 52nd globally.112
China has spent huge amounts of money to attract foreign students to Chinese language and culture, funding language programs at university level in more than 100 countries. It also invites 110,000 to 140,000 foreign students annually to study at Chinese universities. Among them are opinion leaders, diplomats, and entrepreneurs. These students experience Chinese culture and build friendships with Chinese officials and leaders.113 Chinese language has also become increasingly popular abroad, with an annual increase in examinees of the Chinese language test of HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, a.k.a. the Chinese Proficiency Test) about 40-50%.114 The HSK has generated huge revenue. Beijing expects to promote the test to be as popular as the American ETS language proficiency test, which is considered a large education business worldwide.115
The CIs project can generate benefits to China’s universities. By means of cooperation with foreign universities in setting up CIs, Chinese universities have gained a greater opportunity for external contacts. Such communications foster a significant scientific capability in domestic universities.116 Chinese universities act as unofficial cultural diplomats, making a three-fold contribution to the CI project: seeking foreign
111 Ibid., p. 243.
112 “World University Rankings 2012-2013,”
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking(accessed Feburay 2, 2015).
113 Wilfried Bolewski and Candy M. Rietig, “The Cultural Impact on China’s New Diplomacy,” The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations (Summer/Fall 2008), p. 92.
114 Liu, External Communication as a Vehicle for Disseminating Soft Power: A Study of China’s Efforts to Strengthen its Cultural Soft Power in the Era of Globalization, p.28.
115 Ibid., pp.164-165.
116 Ibid., pp.165-166.
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partners and cooperative venues; enhancing CIs’ academic status; and paving the way for China to increase its human capital. The partnership between China and foreign universities gives CIs a role on the global academic stage.117 The PRC expects the China-foreign university partnership to facilitate the inflow of foreign scholars and students into China. Liu Yandong said China will increase funding to finance international students to study at China; to support world-renowned foreign universities’ cooperative programs; and to sponsor foreign scholars to work in China. These can be seen as China’s
“brain gain” efforts to improve its higher education capacity by using foreign-trained human resources.118
China’s charm offensive aims at both the Chinese civil society and abroad. The goal is to present cultural diplomacy by winning the hearts and minds of foreigners. Chinese leaders believe that the goal can be achieved through cultural diplomacy and the projection of soft power. Thus Beijing’s motivation to strengthen its culture by communicating with foreign publics is the attempt to bring about understanding for the nation’s ideas, institutions, and culture.119 Beijing’s use of CIs as a platform for foreign policy can be seen as a cultural approach, using benign activities to counter external pressures of the China threat theory.
3.4 The global expansion of CIs
Language is the basis of communication that can lessen cultural differences. The language of one country that can be embraced by others can contribute its soft power.
English, as a lingua franca, augments the soft power of the U.S. As China’s economy has undergone rapid growth, there has been a sharp increase in global demands for learning
117 Pan, “The Confucius Institute Project: China’s Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power Projection,” p. 27.
118 Ibid., pp. 27-28.
119 Bolewski and Rietig, “The Cultural Impact on China’s New Diplomacy,” p. 93.
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Chinese. This process has been actively promoted by Beijing with the setup of CIs.120 The CI expansion can usher China into the global community and allow the world to better understand China.121 The CIs have not been distributed evenly; rather, a disproportionate number of institutes are located in advanced Western nations, especially the U.S. The goal of Hanban is to create 1,000 CIs by 2020. The strategic objective behind the CIs’ proliferation can be traced to the China’s vision nurtured as a globally benign image of China. The pilot institute was established on June 15, 2004, in Uzbekistan, however, the first official CI opened on November 21, 2004, in South Korea.
Over 60% of CIs were concentrated in East Asia, the EU, and the U.S.– geopolitical importance to China. With the implementation of the CI Development Plan (2012-2020), the CI has been improved its quality of teaching.122
With the advantages of similar culture, peripheral location, and intense trade exchanges, the CI development in Asia has taken off. In particular, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea have the largest student enrollment. The Thai Cabinet passed a petition in 1992, proposed by the Ministry of Education, to lift the restriction of the Chinese education policy. The first CI was set up at Khon Kaen University in August 2006. Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is a strong advocate in promoting the importance of Chinese, after learning that Chinese had become a craze in Thailand. With Japan’s trade with China surpassing the U.S., there are more than 30,000 Japanese companies investing in China. Japanese learning Chinese hit 2 million, ranking it the second-largest foreign language after English. There are 18 CIs in Japan having cooperation with Beijing
120 Wang and Adamson, “War and Peace: Perceptions of Confucius Institutes in China and USA,” pp.
225-234.
121 Pan, “The Confucius Institute project: China’s cultural diplomacy and soft power projection,” pp. 28-29.
122 By the end of 2014, there had been 475 CIs and 851 CCs in 126 countries and regions, with 103 CIs in 32 Asian countries and regions, 42 in 29 African countries, 159 in 39 European countries, 154 in 17 American countries and 17 in 3 Oceania countries; with 79 CCs in 17 Asian countries, 18 in 13 African countries, 211 in 25 European countries, 478 in 7 American countries, and 65 in 3 Oceania countries.
Please see Hanban, Confucius Institute Annual Development Report 2014, p.72.
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University. Their courses are diversified—Chinese history, culture, philosophy, trade, etc.
The propagation of CIs began in South Korea, which was an ideal ground for launching
“Brand Confucius,” given the Korean peninsula’s long history of following the Confucian system of thought and society. South Korea as an economic partner for China was responsible for launching cultural diplomacy through a CI. With the increasing personnel exchanges and international trade, Chinese language has become an important tool for young Koreans. Now there are 23 CIs and more than 150 universities offering Chinese language and culture courses.123 The CIs in South Asia are fewer compared with other parts of Asia. India’s deep-rooted cultural influence has motivated a low-key cultural engagement with China. The CIs have been rather active in Central Asia – a key region for China given its vast natural resources. The CI at the Tajik National University (in Tajikistan), for example, has become an important platform for cultural exchanges since its inception in 2009.124 China’s charm offensive is aimed at improving its standing in Asia. One of its goals is to maintain peace on its periphery, allowing opportunities for Chinese companies to look for outlets.125
On the European continent, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom have the largest CIs and CCs in terms of size and number. In 2006, there were more than 50 Chinese language centers in Russia, including more than 30 universities with Chinese courses.
After the first CI was established at St. Petersburg University, there were 18 CIs and 4 CCs and the demand for learning Business Chinese spiked. Young Russians regard possessing a Chinese language skill as an important means for employment. CIs at Russia’s Far Eastern National University, Moscow State University, and National
123 Xiao-nan Hong and Dan Lin, “Kongzi Xueyuan De Fazhan Licheng Yu Wenhua Yiyun”
(The Evolution of the Confucius Institute and Its Cultural Implication), Culture Journal, No. 5. pp.
30-41.
124 Palit, “China’s Cultural Diplomacy: Historical Origin, Modern Methods & Strategic Outcomes,”
<http://www.chinacenter.net/chinas-cultural-diplomacy-historical-origin-modern-methods-and-strategic-outcomes/>( accessed December 1, 2015).
125 Whittaker, China’s Rise and the Confucius Institutes: Chinese and American Perspectives, p. 30.
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University for the Humanities have become a platform for local trade cooperation with China. The former French President Jacques Chirac once noted that learning Chinese is an excellent choice for the future. There are 110 France universities offering Chinese language courses and more than 15 universities having Chinese language departments.
Students selecting Chinese for electives reached 1.6 million. The number of primary and secondary students learning Chinese has grown at an annual growth rate of 30%. The UK has set up 25 CIs and 92 CCs. Confucius Institute for Business London is the world’s first CI targeted at business professionals. In February 2008, London South Bank University and Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine co-founded the world’s first Chinese medicine CI.126
In the Americas, CIs are mainly established in the U.S. Until 2014, the U.S. had more than 100 CIs and 356 CCs. The world’s first CI network was established in Michigan State University on May 15, 2006. China’s first “Yellow River TV CI” was launched on December 18, 2008, with-24 hour broadcasts that cover the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. The program serves into 400 U.S. universities’, 7,000 secondary schools’, and 50 cities’ cable networks. The number of beneficiaries is about 15 million.
Located in downtown Vancouver, Canada, BCIT Confucius Institute aims at close to the market and in response to mainstream demand for teachers training, Chinese language courses, and China trade practices.127 Compared with the U.S., CI’s development in Latin America is modest, with 26 institutes and 10 classrooms in 11 Latin American countries.
Brazil has 7 CIs and 2 CCs, the most in South America. “Cultural communication between the two languages has a very long history. China is becoming one of the most important countries in the world, especially for Brazil. I see a bright future for a CI in
126 Hong and Lin, “Kongzi Xueyuan De Fazhan Licheng Yu Wenhua Yiyun,” (The Evolution of the Confucius Institute and Its Cultural Implication).
127 Ibid.
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Brazil,” said Father Francisco Ivern Simo, Vice President of the Pontical Catholic University.128
The CIs are closely tied to China’s strategic interests. The institutes teach simplified Chinese characters rather than the traditional characters that are used in Taiwan. This strategy is helpful in advancing Beijing’s goal of marginalizing Taiwan. In addition, China’s expectation of future growing dependence on energy imports has brought the CIs
The CIs are closely tied to China’s strategic interests. The institutes teach simplified Chinese characters rather than the traditional characters that are used in Taiwan. This strategy is helpful in advancing Beijing’s goal of marginalizing Taiwan. In addition, China’s expectation of future growing dependence on energy imports has brought the CIs