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This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date scholarly examination of how China builds international relationships through public diplomacy practices, together with an assessment of the impact of these practices around the world. It explores the sources of China's evolving strategies, how the past influences the present, and the impact of domestic factors that shape China's communication strategies. Including a wide range of detailed examples, the book also discusses how far China is creating new models that will reshape the current landscape of public diplomacy.

Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Tables and Figures -- Preface: Competing Representations and Conflicting Perceptions of China's Engagement in Africa -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 A World of Shared Influence -- Section I Theoretical, Historical, and Global -- 2 Reflections of a Soft Power Agnostic -- 3 The Scramble for Asian Soft Power in Africa -- 4 Evolving Media Interactions between China and Africa -- Section II China's Promotion -- 5 How Much Soft Power Does China Have in Africa? -- 6 Why Are Chinese Media in Africa? Evidence from Three Decades of Xinhua's News Coverage of Africa -- 7 Constructive Journalism: A New Journalistic Paradigm of Chinese Media in Africa -- 8 Chinese Perception of Soft Power: The Role of the Media in Shaping Chinese Views and Discourses on Foreign Aid to Africa -- Section III Perceptions in Africa -- 9 Journalists' and Public Perceptions of the Politics of China's Soft Power in Kenya under the "Look East" Foreign Policy -- 10 Building Blocks and Themes in Chinese Soft Power toward Africa -- 11 Positive Portrayal of Sino-African Relations in the Ethiopian Press -- 12 Engaging with China's Soft Power in Zimbabwe: Harare Citizens' Perceptions of China-Zimbabwe Relations -- 13 China's Soft Power in Sudan: Increasing Activity but How Effective? -- Conclusion -- 14 Chinese Soft Power in Africa: Findings, Perspectives, and More Questions -- Bibliography -- Notes on Contributors -- Index.

China's multi-faceted endeavour to expand its influence in Africa has attracted worldwide scholarly and media attention. This article examines the different moments of China's soft power endeavour, from projection through its state media to representation and lived experiences in South Africa and Zimbabwe, two African countries which receive a significant level of attention in China's policymaking. Through interdisciplinary methodologies such as content analysis, online questionnaires and in-depth interviews conducted in China, South Africa and Zimbabwe, the authors found that China's state-engineered soft power initiatives have resulted in partial success in the two countries. The conclusions indicate that China faces many challenges in fully accomplishing its intended goal. The findings provide new insight into China's political impact in Africa within the context of Beijing's growing influence on Africa's political and economic future.

Mass media play an important role in grassroots democracy, yet the dynamics of media-citizen interaction remains under-researched. Using the case of "Civil Monitory Organization" (CMO) program in Zhejiang's Wenzhou city, we show how local media and the local government to whom the local media are held accountable shape citizen participation. We develop the framework of "contingent participation" to analyze the constraints on local political participation. Based on our observation of the CMO activism, we typologize four participation behaviours: (1) symbolic participation, (2) instrumental participation, (3) managed participation, and (4) transgressive participation. We conclude that contingent participation yields paradoxical results inherent under authoritarian rule: it aims to mobilize citizens to solve governance problems, yet denies the free flow of information and full participation of citizens.