IMAGE-BUILDING: A COMPARISON OF THE SOFT POWER DIPLOMACY OF INDIA AND CHINA

INTRODUCTION

It was the political scientist Joseph Nye who coined the term soft power, deeming it to be the art of civilized persuasion.  It is conversion by cultural capital and according to Nye, power can be exerted mainly via three means - coercion, inducement and attraction. It is the third one which operates by means of allure and which we call soft power.

When America was forced to retreat from Vietnam and Afghanistan or when the Soviet Union was faced with collapse, a greater power was losing before the will to fight expressed by a smaller power. The ancient people of Afghanistan resisted the foreign ideologies of communism and western hegemony. We can see a similar dynamic at play in the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Apart from actual combat, both sides embark on an informational war and in every such occasion, victory is defined not only by military and economic might but also by cultural depth and the skill to build convincing moral narratives. Hence soft power can be a powerful modern weapon today, assisting Davids in their battles against Goliath.

About 36% of the global population reside in India and China together and as these post-colonial people begin to tell their stories, the hegemony of western media and culture is sure to face fierce competition and unsettling challenges. As their economic and military presence have grown considerably on the global stage, the leadership of both countries have started to seriously tackle the problem of their image among foreign populace. In this essay an attempt is made to compare and contrast the underlying motivations and adopted strategies of India and China as they try to build narratives of their identity, culture, values and aspirations.

 OF GODS AND CODES: INDIA’S CULTURAL ARSENEL

Although India underwent centuries of British rule and American soft power continues to be an enduring force, Tharoor (2012:336) observes that soft power is a part of India’s heritage. While Mughals conquered North India, Islam reached South India through trade. Hinduism and Buddhism too left the land of India through ordinary messengers of trade and culture. The impact of such cultural transmission is still felt deeply in the countries of Asia Pacific. Thus, historical ties become a valuable resource for Indian Government to achieve revitalized relations. India is the birthplace of the oriental quartet – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Countries such as Cambodia and Indonesia have enduring cultural ties with India. An effort to capitalize on this was seen in the ‘Look East’ policy.  This gradually led to the development of the more ambitious ‘Act East’ policy. As a part of this, India has entered into numerous trade and cultural agreements with countries in Southeast Asia. Owing to the border conflicts with China, these efforts aim at countering Chinese influence in the region as well as projecting a greater role for India in the world order. In addition, India has been emphasizing precolonial commerce roads to further enhance its relations with Middle East. India’s history of non-alignment and anti-colonial struggle is a firm foundation for relations with Africa and the other developing countries as well.

 Science and technology is another filed where India is doing quite well. Its IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) are eminent centers producing impressive scientists and engineers. India’s chief export today consists of software engineers and IT services. The concept of ‘Jugaad’ which means engineering with minimal, yet ingenious means is also something India has contributed to the developing world. From the TATA Nano car to indigenous COVID vaccines, there is a focus on developing affordable innovations.  The recent meme of ‘Indian Guy on YouTube’ referring to the fact there is always an Indian tutor to be found explaining difficult educational concepts further cement Indian presence in today’s knowledge economy. The American entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan has observed that India is going to be a media superpower. A huge portion of the population already speak English as part of the British colonial legacy. They are industrious content creators on influential social media.

The rich Indian heritage of art, music, dance, mythology and architecture boldly stay beside their western counterparts. There is no dearth of fusion styles in these genres. India has an impressive array of illustrious English authors- Tagore, Salman Rushdie and Arundhathi Roy to name a few – who serve as bewitching storytellers and cultural ambassadors. India has established the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) with a view to spreading its art and culture. It has 36 centers in 26 countries. In addition, there are exhibitions such as Brand India to familiarize other countries with the aesthetic modes and wealth of India. (Hazarika and Mishra 2016)

CHINA’S PUSH TO PROJECT ITS MORES AND MIGHT 

 Beijing’s efforts to work on its public image had begun in 2007 under Hu Jintao.  It was in 2011 that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially adopted as it’s national goal, the need to create an image of China as a socialist cultural superpower.  Similar to the American dream the Chinese began to speak of the Chinese dream and the Asia Pacific dream. The Belt and Road initiative, the ambitious project of Xi Jinping, aims to embed trade and investment in cultural connectivity.  Facilitating student exchanges, study programs and a seamless educational community is a part of this endeavor.

The State Council Information office (SICO) located in Beijing, frequently holds press conferences in addition to publishing magazines books and films. They also have in their employment, numerous spokespersons. China has several state media such as Global Times, Xinhua News Agency, CGTN and People’s Daily China. China had tried to extend their state media across national boundaries by adopting international norms. As the domestic infrastructure of media is based on propaganda, this resulted in bad communication practices in international media as well because news turned out to be propaganda in most cases. This has created a lack of trust in discerning countries today. In Twitter for example, the media of China is marked as ‘China state-affiliated media’.  CCTV which stands for China Central Television was scaled further and launched as CCTV international in 2000. The initial attempt by China is to make inroads into the developing world and they make use of CCTV and China radio international for this purpose. Hundreds of thousands of students study in China as part of exchange programs and otherwise, and they are offered numerous scholarships to learn as well. China has established Confucius institutes all over the world to teach Chinese language and culture. The 3000 plus year rich civilizational wealth of China can certainly not be glided over either.  In addition to media, education and culture, China gives importance to host diplomacy whereby numerous conferences are hosted by China. In 2008 and 2022, they hosted the Olympic games.

Despite all these efforts, recent opinion polls have found that China is viewed with growing concern among people of other countries. Even though China has stepped into the global arena, attempts have been made to put critical foreign journalists in blacklist. Censorship is still extremely strong in China with Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube being banned there. TikTok, the Chinese social media which had become hugely popular, in turn has been accused of data theft, privacy violations and other security breaches. It is banned in India and there are demands that it be banned in many other countries as well. Chinese educational institutions are notorious for repressing free thought and even the Confucius institutes have faced charges of censoring academic freedom. Intellectual property theft is something that is often associated with Chinese researchers that Chinese origin and Chinese scientists and researchers working in Western countries are beginning to be considered as security concerns. 

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

A massive diaspora respected as model minorities in the west is a precious asset which India and China both enjoy. Indians are ubiquitous in the tech world in the role of founders, CEOs and engineers. Governments of both nations try to connect with this diaspora. Cultural events held with their participation further serve to underline the positive contribution these countries export. Indian and Chinese food have become a staple of western palate. Martial artists and classical musicians of China and Bollywood films and classical dance of India vie for the artistic appetite of the world. Yoga, the ancient Indian mix of meditation, flexibility and exercise, enjoys such universal fascination that the United Nations on 11 December 2011, decided to observe 21 June as the International Day of Yoga every year.

Unlike China, India has no centralized state media which is an advantage when it comes to soft power. The significant difference between the soft power strategies of India and China can be explained by the fact that the former is a democracy whereas the latter is a one-party state. On the other hand, India’s hard power is not as strong as China’s, and this affects its soft power capability as well. Increasingly aware of Chinese power in its neighborhood and the global domain, India heavily invests in other countries, opening lines of credit to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and undertaking projects in infrastructure, health and education. Significantly, India is not part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

CONCLUSION

India and China are civilization states and they have started to utilize the legacy of their long surviving civilizations to win the hearts and minds of people and governments. The objective is to convince them that they too have a unique way of life worthy of emulation, protection and appreciation. Joseph Nye had observed that the soft power of a country can be  be developed and analyzed based on three benchmarks. In terms of culture, a country has to project and popularize it's attractive aspects. In terms of political value, it has to live up to its principles and beliefs. And in terms of foreign policy, the country has to be seen as an ethical authority. (Tharoor 2012:333) America projects itself as the land of the free and fiercely protects is free speech, freedom of conscience and political democracy at home. It also serves as a place for creative enterprise, technology, art and infotainment. And America is a successful soft power. Nye had also specified that countries with traditions of diversity, liberalism and free press will be able to achieve soft power much more quickly than others. Judging on these parameters it will be easier to see that India with its long tradition of diverse religions and cultures and democracy will have relative ease in being a soft power amid authoritative and theocratic nations.

 In the polls, people express favorable opinion of China’s cultural capital. It is the country’s political regime that suffers a bad reputation. China mixes coercion and economic incentives even in its diplomatic maneuvers. This ends up damaging the cultural efforts and further affect its positive image. CCP may have to cease being CCP to truly embrace soft power as appealing to people requires free thought, unbridled creative endeavor and ethical social organization.  Even India, with its falling rank in press freedom index and rising boycott calls and free speech struggles in the field of art, is sure to lose out in the cultural attraction index if freedom is not embraced deeply enough.