Date: 2 May 2007
Time: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Venue: SGV Caseroom, Asian Institute of Management
Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power is Transforming the World
“Soft Power,” a term first coined by Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University) professor Joseph S. Nye, “is the ability to get what you want by attracting and persuading others to adopt your goals. It differs from hard power, the ability to use the carrots and sticks of economic and military might to make others follow your will.” In the same manner, special correspondent for The New Republic, Mr. Joshua Kurlantzick relates his latest book, Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power is Transforming the World during the 63rd Globalization Lecture Series at the Asian Institute of Management last May 2, 2007.
After the failure of China’s aggressive mid-1990s policies, the Communist country realized that in order to gain positive public relations, it must employ a softer and subtler approach to court the world. According to Kurlantzick, China has been active over the past decade in ‘charming’ nations around the world through its strategic use of diplomacy, trade incentives, and cultural and educational opportunities to project a benign national image and position itself as a model of social and economic success with stronger international alliances.
Looking closely, Kurlantzick delves into the components of China’s strategy. First, he accounts that the world’s biggest nation is aspiring for regional dominance as it dynamically enriches ties with East Asia in bilateral and multilateral trade. China has replaced the US as Japan’s largest trading partner according to the Ambassador of the Embassy of Japan in Manila, H.E. Ryuichiro Yamazaki. It has also successfully established a trade deal with New Zealand, an area where the United States botched. Multilaterally, China is in constant collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations through the ASEAN plus 3 meetings.
Second is China’s massive and sophisticated outreach campaign. In Asia, to name a few, China has granted aid to the Philippines in infrastructure and agriculture, Burma in military support, and interest-free loans to Indonesia and Vietnam after the Asian financial crisis. Finances even extend to agencies in the Pacific islands of Samoa and Fiji.
Third is China’s skilled diplomacy. Presidents have paid strategic visits to Laos and Cambodia by Jiang Zemin and to Australia by Hu Jintao. Even relations with Russia have been ironed out through a treaty of friendship. In international gatherings, China makes it known to the world that they are indeed serious by sending high-level delegates no matter how minor an assembly may be. Aside from informal summits and visitor programming, the Chinese Peace Corps is active in poor countries like Laos, Burma and Ethiopia. Such friendly approach is partly driven by the country’s need to access resources from diverse suppliers. Because China is huge and new in the market, it has little chance to tap suppliers associated with United States or Europe. In gas, for example, China comes to Oman and Indonesia.
Lastly is the cultural aspect. China’s growing influence today has been planted by the government as a ‘nationalism’ mentality. Budget has been allocated for economic seminars, language training and local officials trainings. Aside from the leverage of numbers, the dispersion of its people, considering that there is a China Town virtually everywhere around the globe, is helping promote the Chinese’s rich and historic culture. The weight of education should be considered. More than ever are painstakingly learning characters for business purposes. Confucianism schools are mushrooming with the tactic of collaborating with an existing local institution, as noted by Dr. Ellen Palanca, Director of the Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University. This is very much the opposite of what cultural centers of other countries do, which are established to be independent.
While these were transpiring, where has the United States been? Kurlantzick provides a couple of explanations. First is the stricter visa policy that the United States has adopted after the 9/11 attacks. Then there’s the stabilizing and strengthening Asian regional economic model, a force that puts countries in the area prioritize their neighbors over the distant ones. And to top it all off, the United States has been engrossed with the war in Iraq that it lost sight of China’s cunning moves. Waging the war has compromised the US’ reputation, more so as a lawful actor due to the human rights violation issues involving prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Clearly, China’s ‘charm offensive’ will continue to shape world activity. In closing, Kurlantzick weighs pros and cons of its the long-term impact. On the negative side, Chinese aid is undermining the tying of aid to better governance as it lacks sensitivity to critical human rights issues. It supports bad regimes such as those of Burma and Sudan. In the environmental aspect, China is not exactly a saint when it comes to protecting it. With the dissemination of its soft power is its labor and environmental practices that are harmful to nature. We have to keep in mind that found in China is the most polluted city in the world, Linfen. In politics, China’s soft power is weakening the promotion of democratization.
Ending with the positive impact, China’s desire to project a good image is a contributing factor to world peace. It assumes the role of mediator in regional disputes. It also takes the lead on non-traditional transnational issues such as disease and drugs. And in the economic terms, aside from being champions of free trade, China enhances prosperity in developing nations as it revives certain industries of this group to obtain their supplies.
This episode of the Globalization Lecture Series received a good response from attendees including the Ambassador of the Embassy of Japan in Manila, H.E. Ryuichiro Yamazaki, Fr. James Reuter, Mrs. Beth Day Romulo and representatives from the government.
Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power is Transforming the World (.pdf)
Mr. Joshua Kurlantzick
Visiting Scholar, China Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace