Photo: Mr Wabu

China’s Confucius Institutes have been in the news lately, with some foreign politicians and academics criticizing both the intentions driving the initiative as well as the execution. Confucius Institutes are non-profit centers designed to teach Chinese language and culture to students around the world. They are most often housed in universities, though there are plans to include younger students as well and to aggressively increase the number of Institutes around the world. Confucius Institutes are also a display of China’s soft power on a global scale, and have been attracting attention as a result. Debate abounds over whether Confucius Institutes are different from other culture and language centers sponsored by other countries, and if the Institutes will succeed where many of China’s soft power objectives have failed.

Chinese officials have claimed that Confucius Institutes are simply a counterpart to places such as the Alliance Francaise, which aims to promote French language and culture outside of France, mainly by focusing on teaching French as a second language. Alliance Francaise receives roughly five percent of its funding from the French government. While the Alliance Francaise has been honored for its contributions to the humanities, Confucius Institutes, on the other hand, have been met with hesitation in other parts of the world, with critics expressing concern that the schools will simply be propaganda platforms for the Chinese government.

Most universities that have established Confucius Institutes have kept them separate from their other Chinese studies programs. Some places, however, have downright refused the creation of such institutes, claiming concern over political motivations and academic freedoms. The Indian government has shot down attempts to launch Confucius Institutes in Indian universities, and has been public about their suspicions that the Confucius Institutes are simply a means for China spread its soft power, widening their sphere of influence by using Chinese culture as a propaganda tool.

Even the name itself, Confucius Institute, has some people riled up. A 2009 article in The Economist points out that “Mao vilified Confucius as a symbol of the backward conservatism of pre-communist China. Now the philosopher…has been recast as a promoter of peace and harmony: just the way President Hu Jintao wants to be seen.”

Soft power, a nation’s efforts to win influence abroad through persuasion and subtle influence instead of by intimidation or military force, is becoming a bigger and bigger part of China’s global policy. They are taking care to increase their cultural exchanges with the rest of the word by sending more teachers, doctors, and students to work and study abroad, while simultaneously encouraging students from other countries to study China and experience it firsthand. Chinese-language programs are becoming increasingly popular abroad, while many businessmen and entrepreneurs are flocking to China to take advantage of both the cultural and business opportunities here.

With all the progress China is making in these areas, there are still plenty of things they have yet to catch up on. John Derbyshire of the National Review Online (America’s “premiere website for conservative news”) asserts that "Right now, your kids wear Chinese clothes and play with Chinese toys. It is not at all inconceivable that their kids will listen to Chinese pop and prefer Chinese movies." This claim is wildly optimistic; China’s soft power influence isn’t even close to rivaling that of the original soft power powerhouse, the United States. (One also has to wonder if Derbyshire has actually listened to Chinese pop music.)

The modern conception of soft power is often seen as a concept rooted in the US, in both its culture and policies. Joseph Nye, the Harvard professor credited with first using the term, posits that, “From Hollywood to higher education, civil society does far more to present the United States to other peoples than the government does. Hollywood often portrays consumerism, sex and violence, but it also promotes values of individualism, upward mobility and freedom (including for women). These values make America attractive to many people overseas…”

Popular culture, including music, movies, and TV shows, has been one of America's most lucrative exports pretty much since the invention of the radio and television. Almost everywhere you go in the world, people are listening to American music, talking about American movie stars, and buying bootlegged copies of American DVDs. That’s not to say they have the market cornered, it’s just that there’s something about Hollywood that appeals to the masses.

This makes the reaction to Chinese soft power a little puzzling. The establishment of a Confucius Institute in British Columbia and a declassified report by the Canadian intelligence services led to a rather hysterical response in the Canadian press, “Canada's spy service believes China has enlisted Confucius, the master of enduring wisdom, in its drive for global dominance…Beijing is out to win the world's hearts and minds, not just its economic markets, as a means of cementing power.” The intelligence report also found, “China wants the world to have positive feelings towards China and things Chinese.” It’s hard to believe the public was even allowed to see this kind of information.

In order for China to dominate in this market, it’s vital for them to reconcile their government-run agenda with audience appeal. This has long been a problem for this country, where most of the cultural “products”, such as celebrities or movies, that are popular with the rest of the world aren’t well-liked in China. Movie stars Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li aren’t well-liked in China; directors like Zhang Yimou and Jia Zhangke were, and are, far better received in the West than at home. It’s highly unlikely that kids in the Western world will “listen to Chinese pop and prefer Chinese movies” until some sort of compromise has been made between the Chinese government and the movie studios, who must push outside of their comfort zones if they want to reap success worldwide, and particularly, outside Asia.

China’s growing use of soft power, be it through the Confucius Institutes or pop culture, will likely improve its relationship with the global community. It creates mutual understanding and openness, things that are necessary for future cooperation. It is clear, however, that there is still a lot to be learned on all sides.
 

Related Links
Branding China's Cities: The 2009 Asian City Forum
How unhappy is China? Criticism for China's Not Happy'
Banned in Beijing: Chinese Movies That Didn't Make the Cut

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.