Slow boat from China: public discourses behind the ‘going global’ media policy

Abstract

What mission and objectives does China want to achieve through its project of globalizing Chinese media? What are its moral and intellectual justifications? What key recommendations are being made in its policy deliberations so far, and to what extent do they represent continuity with or departure from China’s past? I pursue these questions in this paper through an analysis of a range of policy statements and scholarly research published in China. First, I examine the extent to which China’s public diplomacy policy has shifted, paying particular attention to both continuity and change over time. I then outline the major policy recommendations that have been proposed as part of China’s efforts to improve its global image through media expansion. Finally, I consider the ways in which various moral and intellectual resources have been marshalled to justify and propel such initiatives.

Keywords:

• China
• public diplomacy
• media
• going global
• policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. There is a large and still growing literature in English on the topic of China’s rise and the implications of its going global strategy. While it is not the focus of this paper, readers wishing to acquaint themselves with this body of work can refer to the extensive list of references compiled by Shambaugh (2013) in his Introduction chapter.

2. Again, see note 1. Also see Li (2009a).

3. Although not as significant as the literature produced by international relations specialists and political scientists, there is now a sizable body of English-language literature commenting on China’s ‘going global’ strategies in the specific context of media and communication. See Sun (2014a) for an extensive list of these works.