From ‘minxin xiangtong’ (People-to-People) to ‘yiren weiben’ (People-Centered): How China Builds Social Connections through the Belt and Road Initiative?

  • Min YE (Speaker)
  • WU, Z. (Speaker)

Activity: Talks or PresentationsOther Invited Talks or Presentations

Description

While the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) is often characterized as a top-down strategy, the leadership rhetoric and official policy underscore people-to-people connectivity (minxin xiangtong) as one of the five connectivities, along with trade, investment, policy, and infrastructure. What is people-to-people connectivity? How do specific projects evolve? Can we detect tangible motivations and outcomes in BRI's people diplomacy?
Existing literature follows three frameworks across different disciplines. The first is the idea of "geocultural power," which investigates how governments utilize cultural artifacts and historical symbols to pursue national power and interest. History and culture are created and recreated in this process to fit a top-down narrative. The second is the literature on "soft power" projection. Although soft power originates from US scholarship, it has a long application and following in China's foreign diplomacy, particularly through the promotion of the Confucius Institute around the world. The last is the foreign policy approach to public opinions toward China, assuming public opinions influence China's diplomacy and power projection.

The proposed paper focuses on unpacking BRI's people-connectivity, from initial mobilization to formation of scientific and educational consortiums, and people-centered development. This evolution process tests the validity and limitation of geocultural power, soft power, and public opinion surveys. Instead, it underscores social connections that China develops through the BRI, irrespective of power and perception.
Period17 Mar 2023
Event titleThe 2023 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference
Event typeConference
LocationBoston, United States, MassachusettsShow on map