In mid-July, 2015, the Forum on “Closer People-to-People Exchanges for the ‘Belt and Road’” was staged in Beijing. This forum was hosted by the Chinese Association for International Understanding (CAFIU) and nearly 40 participants, including representatives of non-governmental organizations and scholars of think tanks from China, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia, attended the forum. Under the concerted efforts of all parties concerned, the forum achieved great success. I had the honor to attend the forum and would like to share some points of view on public diplomacy with neighboring countries based on the presentations made by the foreign attendants.

Ⅰ. It was just in time to strengthen public iplomacy with neighboring countries

1. The spillover effect of the development of China becomes more significant than before. The development of China has brought tangible benefits to her neighboring countries. Being generally optimistic on the prospective development of China, people of neighboring countries hoped to jump on the bandwagon of China’s development. The representatives of Bangladesh said that the country was aimed to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and jump into the club of middle income countries in 2021. For the realization of this goal, the Bangladesh government was striving to push forward the drive of industrialization, and therefore badly needed to absorb foreign direct investment from the rest of the world including China. The Philippine representatives said that the Philippine government was committed to the strategy of inclusive growth, and has made great efforts to reduce fiscal deficit and create a stable macroeconomic environment. The development of China has brought the Philippines great space of cooperation, which will promote the development of Philippine economy. The representatives of India and Indonesia also expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation with China so as to further improve their national competitiveness and people’s well being. The development of China has attracted more and more attention from all over the world and the desire of non-governmental organizations of neighboring countries in developing exchange with China has further strengthened. A Bangladesh representative said that the Bangladesh-China People’s Friendship Association he worked for attached great importance on the exchange with CAFIU. During his visit in China, two organizations signed a memorandum of cooperation, aiming to further deepening their cooperation, staging diversified forms of people-to-people exchange activities, thus making more contributions to the mutual understanding between people of two countries.

 

2. The Strategy of “Belt and Road” offered great opportunities for the development of public diplomacy with neighboring countries. Foreign representatives widely believed that the initiative of “Belt and Road” was beneficial for neighboring countries in sharing the experience and opportunities of China’s development, and enhancing the economic development of neighboring countries and regional cooperation, thus promoting the development of both China and the neighboring countries of China. An Indian representative believed that the initiative of the “Belt and Road” will bring a trade volume of trillions of dollar and reshape the world economic landscape, thus benefiting people of many more countries. As Indian located in the center of trade routes connecting the east and the west, cooperation between India and China in terms of infrastructure connectivity boasts promising future. A representative from Indonesia said that, as the world’s largest island state, it was an important goal of the Indonesian government to strengthen the connection among its major islands and build a maritime power. Participation in the construction of “Belt and Road” will contribute to the accelerating of domestic infrastructure development of Indonesia. Representatives from Bangladesh and the Philippines all argued that the idea of industrial cooperation under the framework of “Belt and Road” fitted well with their national development strategy.

Ⅱ. Major problems in public diplomacy ith neighboring countries

1. The Problem of “trust” alongside the rapid development of China. At present, the economic aggregate of China ranked the second largest in the world. As a result, facing such a “hefty” neighbor, some neighboring countries felt not being adapted or a rising of sense of crisis, or even bore the mentalities of fear and keeping away. Representatives from India and the Philippines expressed frankly that the largest obstacle with the initiative of the “Belt and Road” was the severe trust deficit between China and some neighboring countries-some countries worried that China seize the chance to expand its international influence and jeopardize their national interest and security.

 

2. Some Chinese funded enterprises lacked the necessary publicity and communication with local public societies, and a handful of them even lacked sense of social responsibility. In recent years, investment and trade relations between China and neighboring countries have surged. However, such cooperation mainly concentrated in the fields of primary products such as petroleum, minerals and wood. Trade protectionism in neighboring countries was on the rise and some countries even regard China as “neocolonialism”. An Indian representative said that due to the differences between India and China in terms of political system, culture and language, Sino-Indian people-to-people exchange was very limited and the understanding of Indian public on China was very superficial. In addition, due to the occasional provoking of some politicians and scholars, the negative emotions to China among the Indian public assumed the trend of rising. A Bangladesh representative pointed out that a handful of Chinese funded enterprises lacked the sense of social responsibilities and failed in fulfilling the demands of local laws on labor or environmental protection. Such improper behaviors, to a large extent, offered ammunition for the sensationalization on China-related issues, which influenced the image and reputation of China among the people of neighboring countries.

 

3. Chinese non-governmental organizations were weak in terms of influence and capacity for action in neighboring countries. Non-governmental organizations of developed countries have long been working in some neighboring countries of China-hosting various activities and publicizing western values. Some of these organizations even take advantage of problems with overseas traveling and study of Chinese citizens to eliminate the positive image of China in the mind of local people. An Indian representative pointed out that due to the territorial disputes between India and China, there are many negative reports on China on the Indian media and the overall public opinion on China among the Indian people turned out to be negative. Representatives from Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia also pointed out that activities carried out by Chinese non-governmental organizations there were inadequate and their influence was far less than that of the developed countries.

Ⅲ. Points of views on public diplomacy ith neighboring countries

1. Strengthening mutual benefit among the public of neighboring countries of the “Belt and Road”. Strengthen information sharing and communication via people-to-people exchange and bring into full play the role of various organizations, such as non-governmental organizations, enterprises, media and think tanks, so as to further publicize and interpret the content and intention of the initiative of the “Belt and Road”, and advocate the ideas of mutual development and win-win cooperation. Catering to the different situations of different countries, put emphasis on the integration of the “Belt and Road” initiative with the development strategies of various countries, strive to seek the maximum common interest among the different interest demands of various countries, make efforts to win the support and recognition from the public of neighboring countries and strengthen mutual understanding and trust.

 

2. Promote the pragmatic cooperation between Chinese non-governmental organizations and their counterparts in neighboring countries. In line with the construction of the “Belt and Road”, we should actively promote the pragmatic cooperation between Chinese non-governmental organizations and their counterparts in neighboring countries, thus bringing tangible benefits to the people of these countries. Chinese non-governmental organizations should be encouraged to “go abroad” and build extensive contacts with non-overnmental organizations, media and think tanks of neighboring countries. The cooperation can focus on public welfare projects such as education, health care, poverty elimination, water conservancy, vocational training and agricultural technology extension. Chinese non-governmental organizations could join or entrust their cooperative partners in staging activities, gradually accumulate experience in carrying out people-to-people exchange in different countries, and exert lasting impact via tangible means to local public.

 

3. Strengthen media and youth exchange with neighboring countries. The media should be encouraged to participate in public diplomacy with neighboring countries-improve the ability of Chinese media in shaping and directing opinions related with China in neighboring countries via the means of exporting cultural works, cooperation and exchanges. By inviting mainstream media of neighboring countries to China, enabling them to experience the development achievements of China on spot, objectively understand the development concepts of China, gradually reclaim their cognitive bias, thus encouraging them to tell true stories of China and broadcast objective Chinese voice. In the process of carrying out public diplomacy with neighboring countries, non-governmental organizations, enterprises, media and think tanks could take advantage of technological means such as the Internet and social media, and make reports in forms of pleasant-to-accept and easy-to-understand, so as to eliminate misgivings and misunderstanding among the public, and reinforce the foundation of friendly public opinion to China. The hope of diplomatic relations development lies in youth. We should offer more opportunities of studying and exchange in China to youth of neighboring countries, make efforts to subsidize local education, thus enhancing the understanding of youth of neighboring countries on

China.
　
(Li Xu, Former Project Manager of China Foundation for Peace and Development)
(Translated by Ma Jiatai)