Chinese Perception of Soft Power: The Role of the Media in Shaping Chinese Views and Discourses on Foreign Aid to Africa

Abstract

The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) comprises 23 industrialized countries and the European Union. These countries, accounting for up to 95 percent of global aid from the 1980s until 2008² (Manning, 2006), have had a strong interest in the domestic public perception of foreign aid and official development assistance (ODA). As such, there has been substantial research done on the general public opinion of ODA in the OECD and European countries through surveys and public polls (Bobrow and Boyer, 2001; Olsen, 2001; McDonnell et al., 2003; Czaplinska, 2007). Even though China is not a member of the DAC and current Chinese aid levels are relatively low compared with traditional OECD donors, there has been increasing scholarly research on the levels and impacts of Chinese overseas aid, particularly in Africa (Davies et al., 2008; Brautigam, 2009; D. Moyo, 2009). Although random polls and piecemeal analysis are available in the public domain regarding the Chinese perception of overseas aid in China, there has not been a systematic analysis of the role of the populace on the issue. The absence of information is partly attributed to state-controlled media, in addition to the historical, political, and cultural factors of China.

This chapter draws upon research supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development: “The ‘non-DAC donors’ and the role of public perspectives in shaping the future of aid.” Thanks to Elżbieta Drążkiewicz-Grodzicka, Kinga Katus, and Gary Chen Guangli for assisting in the research process for this chapter. Also special thanks to Stephan Stewart for proofreading the chapter.