“The Chinese Dream” as the Theory of a New Stage of China’s Modernization

<p>China under Xi Jinping has a story to tell. In recent years, China has devoted more time and energy extending its discursive influence overseas. Aspirational propaganda slogans such as Xi’s “Chinese dream” indicate a potential change from Deng Xiaoping’s “bide your time, hide your strength” towards an outwardly focussed foreign policy of Striving for Achievement as China’s confidence grows. This project conducts a content analysis following the method set out by Klaus Krippendorff of 1907 Xinhua articles from 2013 – 2017 and finds that while this assertion was true shortly after articulation; coverage reverted to an inward focus in subsequent years. Furthermore, the findings show that there is an individualistic aspect to how the dream is portrayed whether it is intended by top government figures or not. Understanding how tifa develop, interrelate – or depart from each other – is vital in understanding contemporary political discourse in China. Lastly, the Chinese dream contains within it the beginnings of a prototype vision of Chinese exceptionalism.</p>

Download Full-text

Branding the Chinese Dream: Reception of China’s Public Diplomacy in Britain’s “Cultural China”

British Journal of Chinese Studies ◽

10.51661/bjocs.v11i0.128 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 15-35

Author(s):

Yan Wu ◽

Sian Rees ◽

Richard Thomas ◽

Yakun Yu

Keyword(s):

Political Ideology ◽

Public Diplomacy ◽

Nation Branding ◽

Perceived Threat ◽

Chinese Dream ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Group Data ◽

Brand Values ◽

Focus Group Data ◽

The Chinese Dream

Over four decades, China’s transformed propaganda system has embraced public diplomacy to dispel its perceived “threat.” The most recent strategy has been the branding of the Chinese Dream narrative. Although there has been some academic focus on China’s nation branding, little has been written about its reception by overseas audiences. Accordingly, this article draws on focus-group data and employs Tu Wei-ming’s “cultural China” framework in exploring how the Chinese Dream is received and interpreted in the United Kingdom. This article contributes to understandings of nation branding by recognising how Chinese diaspora communities and British intellectual and professional elites engage with and promote brand values. It argues that the socio-cultural aspect of branding is important for China’s identity and that using the Chinese Dream as a branding narrative is successful when it focuses on cultural and economic messaging but divides opinion when political ideology is used. Image © Yan Wu

Download Full-text