Public diplomacy of the people's republic of China in the context of post-Afghan events

Abstract

The article discusses the particular issues of the PRC’s modern public diplomacy. It is widely known that the rapid development of telecommunication technologies in the last decade has contributed to the active informational globalization processes in the modern world. Under these circumstances, the non-state actors’ activity has drastically increased. China is a prime example of effective implementation of such activities into public diplomacy by resorting to the “soft power”, which serves as the foundation of Chinese foreign policy. This article demonstrates the evolution and main stages of public diplomacy development in China. It is highlighted that the Chinese government has designated creating favorable international environment and modernization of the country as the main task of the public diplomacy. The article also demonstrates how the highest governing bodies of the Chinese Communist party and government, as well as specialized “think tanks”, devise the general vector of the foreign policy and public diplomacy both at home and overseas; the aforementioned organizations include the institutions engaged in economic and cultural cooperation, sports and education. Thus, the delegation of devising “soft power” policy to cultural institutions instead of foreign policy oriented organizations constitutes a specific trait of the Chinese public diplomacy. The article highlights issues of China’s economic development and the historical and political place of that country in the world. The main directions and methods of the Chinese public diplomacy are thoroughly analyzed in this article. The Confucius Institute, Chinese cultural centers, mass media, educational systems and numerous Chinese diaspora constitute the major actors of the “soft power”, which methods include such elements as Chinese economic influence and initiatives in Chinese language training. The author also draws attention to the questions regarding the One Belt One Road Initiative and its place in the development of modern economy. The article also analyzes the PRC authorities’ concept of “Community of Common Destiny”, which represents a global project of establishing the new world order. The author indicates that China faces a number of problems with the “soft power” despite significant progress in this sphere. For instance, the global community has its doubts whether Chinese economic aid and trade agreements are implementations of “soft power” or just other forms of political and economic pressure; many developing countries are disapproving of the Chinese investment mechanisms.