Constructing the narrative on global China

Over the past decade, China has become more assertive in developing a strategic narrative about global China. The CCP thereby seeks to shape domestic and international perceptions of China’s domestic development and at the same time present its own visions for global politics as an alternative to the Western-led liberal international order. China’s party diplomacy plays a particularly important but much overlooked role in advancing the narrative on global China. Party diplomacy allows reaching a broad range of those political elites who subsequently shape domestic political discourses and take key decisions on their countries’ international cooperation. Party diplomacy can thereby act much more targeted than China’s media engagement or the creation of Confucius Institutes, which aim at shaping public perceptions of China. The article analyses three case studies to explore the CCP-ID’s approach to developing the narrative on global China and how this approach has changed over time. The example of Xinjiang shows how party diplomacy has moved from fending off international criticism towards actively constructing an alternative narrative and how the CCP’s party network mobilize influential individuals and groups that actively reproduce China’s perspective on the “real situation” in Xinjiang in domestic and international media. The example of a “shared future for mankind” and the three development initiatives show how the CCP-ID has moved from “informing others” about its foreign policy concepts towards actively using those concepts to frame bilateral relations. Whereas previous foreign policy concepts aimed at ensuring others that China’s rise will remain peaceful and not challenge the international system, the narrative on global China seeks to actively present an alternative to the liberal international order where state sovereignty, non-interference and the diversity of culture and civilization replace universal values on human rights and democracy. Finally, the CCP uses the party channel to “normalise” China’s political system as a valuable alternative and as being superior to Western liberal democracy.