Officials have been told to have confidence in their country’s culture, history, ideology and political system so they can convey to international audiences that China’s approach is superior to Western countries on many issues. Ta.
This policy objective explains the increasingly assertive and sometimes confrontational rhetoric of Chinese officials and state media in recent years. Being assertive and not backing down in the face of Western pressure is seen as a way to earn the “right to speak.”
But officials and state media executives have expressed frustration, both publicly and privately, that China’s rhetoric has done little to sway international opinion.
The Chinese government has spent millions on this propaganda campaign, including establishing news agencies overseas, hiring former TV anchors from CNN and other sites on its official English-language channel CGTN, and installing electronic billboards in New York’s Times Square. I’ve spent dollars.
For Chinese officials and state media, if the campaign is ineffective, it is because of the bias and control of Western media, academics, and the public.
At the same time, Chinese officials and analysts examined the language being used to see if it could better convey these messages. The authorities are also trying to do this by expanding their social media presence abroad.
However, these efforts fail to address some of the fundamental flaws in China’s international propaganda drive.
One of these is that in the Chinese system, once official policy and discourse are formed, they are propagated by state media, leaving no room for opposing voices.
In the West, it’s a different story. In the West, many stories and arguments are presented from a variety of sources, including voices that challenge the official view, and people are free to form their own opinions.
In China’s political culture, even well-meaning criticism from sympathizers can be seen as a challenge or hostility from the Chinese government. Therefore, the call to “tell China’s story well” is often interpreted as “let’s tell a story about the good side of China.”
Whether well-intentioned or not, criticism is not welcome in Beijing. And even if Chinese officials and state media are telling the truth, they are often perceived by outsiders as whitewashing.
China to more tightly control ethnic minority debate to mitigate ‘risks’
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Another factor is how the bureaucracy works in China from a propaganda perspective. Officials’ performance is usually measured not by how well they can persuade foreign audiences, but by how well they can appeal to domestic audiences and gain approval from their superiors.
That is, officials are likely to care more about what they say to news outlets that have access to domestic audiences and how their words will be received by their superiors.
Apart from this effort to make China’s position known on contentious international issues, the Chinese government is also keen to expand its soft power through culture.
It’s not that difficult, considering that China’s cultural heritage has always attracted the attention of people all over the world.
People-to-people exchange may be an easy sell for the Chinese government, but it will have to refrain from imposing its own views on visitors. Instead of telling China’s story, it might be best to let people explore and discover it for themselves.