China media offensive seeks to win hearts, global influence (Feature)

By Andreas Landwehr Oct 8, 2009, 3:04 GMT

   Beijing - China is seeking to expand its 'soft power' around the world through an international propaganda offensive in which its Communist Party leadership is investing billions of dollars.

   The ambitious strategy originated with party leader and Chinese President Hu Jintao, who sees 'soft power' - as influence on other countries through culture and ideas is often described - as 'an increasingly important factor in national strength.'

   While the international economic crisis has caused cuts in the news business worldwide, it is playing no role in China as government money is flowing into the new initiative while Beijing seeks to expand its influence on international opinion in the Information Age.

   Liu Yunshan, the director of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee and the country's propaganda chief, called it an 'urgent strategic task for us to make our communication capability match our international status.'

   'Nowadays, nations that have more advanced skills and better capability in communications will be more influential in the world and can spread their values further,' he wrote in an essay in the Chinese political magazine Qiushi, which means Seeking Truth.

   A chief tool in the campaign is the state-run media in China, where most media outlets are government-controlled and whose few independent media are subject to censorship, earning the country poor rankings on media freedom from the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.

   One of those state-run media outlets, the Xinhua news agency, has launched a television news service under the government's media expansion plan, following in the footsteps of the Arabic channel Al-Jazeera.

   The first news shows were offered worldwide in the summer, and they are to be expanded into a global, 24-hour Chinese TV service.

   At the service's inauguration in July, Xinhua president Li Congjun said the new channel would interpret global events 'objectively' and 'impartially' from a Chinese angle, giving foreign readers and viewers a 'novel perspective.'

   The new news channel is expanding China's already large radio and television presence in the world. Central China Television, or CCTV, broadcasts to about 100 countries in many languages - including in Arabic to 22 countries since the summer.

   China's status as guest of honour at next week's Frankfurt Book Fair is also part of its 'soft power' campaign as is a World Media Summit, to which Xinhua invited representatives from 100 foreign media outlets to Beijing this week.

   The Communist Party's most important propaganda arm organized the conference to create a platform for itself to discuss global media challenges on an equal footing with independent news organizations from other countries and to seek possible new cooperation.

   In the meantime, China is striving to build its own international media empires, following the Western examples of Time Warner Inc and News Corp.

   A plan released by China's State Council at the end of last month looks to transform the country's news, entertainment and culture companies into free-market entities.

   Using the catchword 'privatization,' foreign capital is also being sought for state publishing houses although it won't translate into more publishing freedom after propaganda czar Liu warned all publishing houses to always 'maintain the right direction of the advanced socialist culture.'

   The need for a global media push was reinforced in China's leadership early last year after deadly unrest shook Tibetan areas of China, a government crackdown provoked international condemnation and anti-China protests marred the Olympic torch relay.

   Afterwards, the government repeatedly formulated their goal as to 'better convey a positive image of China to the world.'

   The party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, launched the English-language Global Times in the spring with an appealing, modern editorial concept although a slight nationalist tone. China Daily also launched a US edition in February while Xinhua and CCTV are said to be opening new offices around the world.

   The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong reported that China has earmarked 45 billion yuan (6.6 billion dollars) for the strategy to modernize its media and shake off its image as a repressive government.

   This amount has never been officially confirmed in Beijing although it has been quoted in state-controlled media.

   China seemingly has a big advantage in its campaign: While foreign media and information face censorship in China, Chinese media are not restricted in their expansion in the world's democratic societies.

   However, critics warned Beijing that such a situation would not necessarily translate into greater 'soft power' but could backfire.

   They do not object to a greater flow of information coming out of China but criticized a 'propagandized self-portrait' disseminated by an authoritarian regime.

   Billions of dollars in spending cannot buy credibility, which flows from a diversity of opinion and independent news gathering, media observers argued.

   Worldwide distrust of China would only increase if its government pushes only its line of propaganda while muffling critical voices, they added.

   'Paradoxically, China's cultural influence will only become stronger when the country is willing to talk openly about its weaknesses,' the American author and historian James Palmer advised in an opinion piece in the Global Times.