Global mass media as a key element of Cina’s “soft power”

Abstract

The article is devoted to the use of global mass media in China’s foreign policy strategy of “soft power”. The specifics of Beijing’s “soft power” strategy and its implementation in the global information space are considered. The object of the study is the strategic implementation of “soft power” within the framework of the foreign policy discourse of the People’s Republic of China. The subject of the study is the Chinese global media as a critical element in the implementation of the PRC’s “soft power” strategy.

The research is interdisciplinary – at the junction of journalism and political science with a combination of tools from the arsenal of journalism and methods of political science. Thus, the literature review revealed existing publications on the research topic, the main achievements, and gaps in the study of the subject, which contributed to determining the place of this research in the context of existing knowledge and formulating the goals and objectives of the research. The method of historical analysis contributed to the identification of a historiographical context that revealed changes in approaches and strategies for using media in Chinese foreign policy. The bibliometric method made it possible to perform a temporal analysis of the distribution of publications by counting the number of scientific papers related by keywords for an objective assessment of the relevance of the selected research topic.

The findings of the study elucidate the distinctive characteristics of the “soft power” strategy as implemented within the Chinese political framework, its differences from American and European constructs, the basic principles, goals and objectives underlying this strategy are indicated, and the tools for Beijing’s use of “soft power” in the international media space are identified. The study showed that China’s “soft power” influence on international life is dualistic – as a combination of positive and negative effects.

Concluding the research, a comprehensive evaluation of the PRC’s “soft power” strategy was presented, particularly its impact on the global geopolitical landscape and the Central Asian region. Possible changes in the tools and methods of Beijing’s implementation of “soft power” are indicated.