The Chinese Communist Party plays an important role in the projection of influence through party-to-party diplomacy by using smart power (both hard power and soft power) to gain its foreign policy objectives. The CCP has established relationships with more than 400 political parties (both ruling and non-ruling foreign political parties) in over 140 countries. Power and influence are interlinked in China’s context because influence is not only due to material investment but also requires political and social networks.
What is Smart Power Diplomacy?
According to Joseph S. Nye, smart power is the combination of hard and soft power to achieve foreign policy objectives. Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party uses hard and soft power to influence the global community through party-to-party interaction. Many examples and case studies explain the CCP’s smart power strategy, such as cooperation and interaction with African political parties, engagement with socialist and leftist wing parties in Europe, cooperation and interaction with Latin America, and more. However, I will explain the case studies of Africa and COVID-19, focusing on how the CCP engaged with different political parties during that crisis.
In Africa, China uses smart power, i.e., during interaction with political parties, to enhance transnational influence. During these interactions, soft power and hard power are used by the Chinese Communist Party. Hard power tools used by China during interactions with political parties in Africa are:
- Economic influence
- Military presence
- Infrastructure development
- Technological influence, etc.
China is Africa’s largest trade partner, providing loans, financial aid, and investments. In 2023, China-Africa trade volume reached $282.1 billion. China’s export volume in this trade was $173 billion, and import volume was $109 billion. China also signed different agreements regarding the Belt and Road initiative with more than 50 African countries. These agreements were about infrastructure, for example, ports, railways, and highways. In Ethiopia, China financed $4.5 billion for the Djibouti railway project, and they aimed to reduce transport costs. For the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, $4.7 billion was financed by China.
The military presence is another tool of hard power China uses to project global influence. China established a military base in Djibouti, its first overseas military base. This base was established in 2017 and aimed to project power in the region. China also exports arms to Africa. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), from 2019 to 2023, about 19% of African arms imports were from China. China has provided more than 80% of its UN peacekeeping mission troops to Africa, more than any other country. This tool also helps China increase its power and influence.
China has also invested in different infrastructure developments in Africa. From 2016 to 2021, China provided more than $23 billion to African infrastructure development projects, and by 2024, China’s investment in Africa will be 2.5 times more than all Western countries combined.
China invested in strategic ports like the Lamu Port in Kenya and Bagamoyo in Tanzania, and their objective is to protect maritime access and to support China’s trade routes. China is using another tool called debt diplomacy to create dependency on other countries on China. China’s financial, loan, and leverage activities in Africa are forms of debt-trap diplomacy.
China and Africa have many agreements regarding natural resource extraction. About 16% of China’s crude oil imports are from African countries. China is also involved in mining, such as copper in Zambia and Iron ore in Guinea. Because of this interaction, China is trying to increase its influence in the African region, and this is a hard power tool.
China’s technological influence plays an important role in party-to-party interaction between China and Africa and helps China to project influence in the African region. China has exported surveillance and facial recognition technology to Africa. This technological transfer falls in the hard power category; for example, China has transferred smart city technology to Africa. These initiatives are favorable for authoritarian governments to have control of their population, and this initiative aligns with China’s governance model.
China is also using another part of smart power: soft power. Soft power in the context of China’s interaction with different political parties in Africa includes cultural influence, educational initiatives, media outreach, and humanitarian assistance. Now, I will explain each one that how the CCP uses these all as a soft power tool during interaction with political parties in Africa to increase influence.
China’s cultural influence in Africa includes Confucius Institutes and cultural exchange programs. China has established more than 500 Confucian institutes in more than 140 countries, most of which are in Africa. It is estimated that China has established 61 Confucius institutes in about 48 African countries, and these institutes aim to promote the Chinese language, literature, and culture. South Africa was the first African state to establish the Confucius Institute in 2004. China also arranges cultural exchange programs annually, aiming to promote Chinese music, art, and literature exchange.
China also takes educational initiatives in African countries to increase the CCP’s influence. For this purpose, China provides more than 12000 scholarships each year to African students. Since 2000, the Chinese government has trained more than 160,000 African students. According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, in 2018, about 81562 African students studied in China. China also provides financial support for university infrastructure.
China also uses media as a soft power tool to increase influence through party networks. China’s global television network, CGTN, is functional in more than 160 countries worldwide. In Africa, it is operated in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria. CGTN plays an important role in shaping the Chinese narrative in Africa. CGTN provides different programs that influence African audiences, like “The China-Africa Project “program, whose objective is to highlight China’s role in African development and its party-to-party interaction. Chinese films and movies are translated into the African language, increasing the promotion of Chinese culture and influence in Africa.
During COVID-19, the CCP started efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic. For this purpose, a small group was formed in 2020 to deal with this virus. China’s CCP party struggled to gain global influence through party-to-party interaction using a smart power strategy. CCP sent letters to different political parties in approximately 110 countries. These letters were used as a strategy because they explained the Chinese government’s efforts to fight against the pandemic and offer support and aid to other countries. To project influence, the CCP started medical diplomacy and aid to African political parties. In March 2021, china provided more than 1 million masks and 6,00,000 testing kits to Africa. Moreover, China is influencing the world community by using media diplomacy. The CCP has used different media platforms to establish its own narrative about COVID-19 and to highlight how China played an important and leading role in providing aid during the pandemic.
China also played an important role in South East Asia by engaging different political parties of different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. China was busy building its own narrative in these states. The Cambodian Prime Minister and Laos’s ruling party (LPRP) publicly supported China’s role in the pandemic. Prime Minister Hun Sen was the only world PM to visit China during the pandemic and support China’s narrative about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vaccine diplomacy was also one tool China used during the COVID-19 pandemic to interact with foreign political parties. Egypt’s ruling party at that time had a strong relationship with China. Therefore, the CCP provided the Sinovac vaccine to Egypt. Egypt was one of the first countries in Africa to receive the vaccines from China.
China’s CCP party uses smart power (a combination of soft and hard power) as a tool to increase its influence worldwide.
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Muhammad Asif is doing his MPhil from National Defence University Islamabad.