Yiyi Lu: Soft Power Lessons for Beijing from a Chinese Petitioner

On the Wall Street Journal’s China Real Time blog, Lu Yiyi, research fellow at the University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute and an associate fellow at the U.K.-based Chatham House, writes that when it comes to its soft power initiatives, China’s relationship with the West is equivalent to that of a disenfranchised petitioner and the Chinese government:

Of course, China is not a petitioner who has to implore Western countries to hear her appeal, but one can certainly draw a parallel between China’s position vis-à-vis the West and that of its domestic petitioners vis-à-vis government officials. In the latter case, there is clearly a massive power asymmetry. As the weak and disadvantaged party, petitioners must behave in a certain way, i.e., keeping their temper and emotion under control, in order to maximize their chances of gaining a sympathetic hearing from powerful officials.

At present, China’s relations with the West in terms of soft power also appear to be highly asymmetric. Beijing often complains of Western bias and prejudice. It feels that Western media coverage and public discourse on China are dominated by negative views and perceptions. In Beijing’s public relations battles in the West with various critics and opponents ranging from the Dalai Lama to Google, it always seems to suffer big defeats. When Beijing tries to use its own media to refute Western criticism and accusations, it is dismissed as state-sponsored propaganda and therefore not credible.

In short, in terms of China’s soft power in the West, Beijing does not seem to be in a much stronger position than the petitioner who attempts to make officials listen to her and support her claims. It is a similar uphill battle for Beijing to try to influence Western perceptions and opinions. The difference is that, while the petitioner understands the importance of remaining calm, Beijing seems to lose its temper and get personal all too easily.

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