China’s digital diplomacy agenda and public engagement: an analysis in Africa on twitter (X)

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ABSTRACT This study explores China’s digital diplomacy strategies directed toward African countries through content and public engagement analysis of 1,681 tweets from the Twitter account of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Africa Department. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, tweets are categorized into key themes revealing China’s public diplomacy agenda. Referring to the agenda-setting theory in public diplomacy, the analysis focuses on international relations, economic partnerships, and COVID-19 aid, all the while respecting African sovereignty while critiquing Western approaches. The findings highlight that China strategically employs digital diplomacy to position itself as a benevolent partner upholding the noninterference principle. An average interaction rate of 78.73 is observed, with the security theme attracting the highest engagement despite a limited messaging focus from Chinese diplomacy. The level and variability of interaction across themes expose nuanced engagement dynamics. Examining the highest tweet engagement patterns finds that highly interactive topics are related to trade/investment, education/technology, and state visits, signaling audience interest. Highly engaging tweets predominantly accumulate likes, suggesting passive endorsement, which is reflective of diplomatic social media. This study contributes to understanding China’s evolving digital diplomacy, which is tailored to foreign policy priorities and the effectiveness of strategic communication approaches in engaging African audiences.