Brand China
From the man who brought us the 'Beijing Consensus' comes this:
The report argues that China's national image is its greatest strategic threat. The misalignment between China's image of itself and how it is viewed by the rest of the world is China’s major challenge. The report argues that alongside its other reforms, China needs a 'fifth transition' if the trust and understanding necessary for the next stage of its development are to be achieved.
JOSHUA COOPER RAMO, author of Brand China says in the report:
“China’s greatest strategic threat today is its national image. The country is not, in the short term, likely to be invaded.
“China’s image of herself and other nations’ views of her are out of alignment. The world’s view of China is too often an unstable cocktail of out-of-date ideas, wild hopes and unshakeable prejudices and fears. China’s view of herself often teeters between self-confidence and insecurity, between caution and arrogance.
This is a very astute observation. I sometimes found teaching 'Western Culture' to students with a very fixed perception of China and the outside world a very perplexing task while I lived in Shanghai, and I'm sure those undergraduates were not unique.
States are not all alike, and China is more unequal than others. The way in which the state and its people perceive itself is fundamental to its behaviour in the international arena, yet this is an area that is often rarely discussed. Yet it is crucial to the way that we on the outside see China too, and is a critical tool in arriving at a better mutual understanding.
Speaking ahead of the launch of Brand China, FENG ZHANG, China Programme Manager at the Foreign Policy Centre said
“The phrase Peaceful Rise, which has been used by China’s image makers for several years, has often backfired. Rather than feeling reassured, China’s critics instead use the slogan to demonstrate China’s untrustworthiness. In the current climate, with China’s military buildup, and satellites being destroyed, the idea of a Peaceful Rise is not going to convince the rest of the world.”
More below, or download the report from the link above.
The report argues that in the eyes of most foreigners:
China is seen either as a land of Mao-suited citizens, as the “last surviving large communist country on earth”, or as a mix of “Fu man chu” and gong-fu stereotypes with more modern authoritarian images.
Chinese products are seen as low-tech and poor quality. International financial firms regard Chinese firms as naïve, easy targets for fast returns.
Chinese labour is seen as “sweat-shop” cheap; asked to describe China’s dominant economic feature, consumers and businesses are more likely to reach for the phrase “copycat” than “innovative.” As one best-selling author explains, "The sad fact is that the Chinese system today is almost incompatible with honesty.”
China fails to “get credit” for choices that align them more closely with the international community. In areas such as currency reform and nuclear proliferation, difficult Chinese policy decisions disappear as if they never happened, making little meaningful impact on the nation’s image. Areas where China is out of step with international norms produce far more friction outside the country than inside, often baffling Chinese policy makers.
Positive views of China tend to be associated with the country’s rapid economic growth as an opportunity for money making. There is little detailed understanding outside of specialist circles of the immense economic reform challenges the country still faces. Appreciation of the cultural, social and spiritual changes underway in China register with only a handful of people outside of China.
Chinese institutions fail to accurately project the complete image of contemporary China. Chinese consulates are often dirty and chaotic. China’s ambassadors, usually charming and deeply intellectual men and women in private, are rarely seen in the media environments of their host countries. CCTV 9, China’s international television station, presents a wooden image of the nation. While in other countries it is possible to visibly see government at work, glimpses of Chinese decision making remain rare, perpetuating foreign confusion about how China is ruled and the strengths and weaknesses of the system and Party.
