On October 15, the 2024 China New Media Conference opened in Changsha, and a "discussion" around the systemic reform of mainstream media was in full swing. At half past two in the afternoon, the International Communication Forum, which gathered with well-known media personalities, experts and scholars, representatives of overseas brand enterprises and other guests, shared how to adapt to the complex international public opinion environment, improve the efficiency of international communication, and enhance the influence of international communication in mainland China with the theme of "Building a More Effective International Communication System". After listening to the sharing of these celebrities, Xiang Banjun, who "heard the way" at the scene, had a lot of insights.
The 2024 China New Media Conference opened in Changsha. Photo by Hunan Daily all-media reporter Tang Jun
Over the years, we have invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the field of international communication, launched many products, and achieved good results. For example, the domestic game "Black Myth · Wukong", which became popular abroad some time ago, and the phenomenal "out of the circle" topic "China travel", have all blown a "whirlwind" on overseas online platforms, thus becoming a typical successful case of international communication. On the one hand, this means an increasing diversity of communication methods, and on the other hand, it also means the many possibilities of international communication. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to "build a more effective international communication system", how can we be "more effective"? This is a common issue for media professionals.
Boosts potency
Let the world truly understand China
At the International Communication Forum of the New Media Conference, foreign guest, John Ross, senior researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of Chinese, mentioned in a video speech that there are many misunderstandings in Western media about China's changes, and if there is a misunderstanding, it is necessary to communicate, avoid drawing wrong conclusions based on misinformation, and understand the real situation in China. This also means that the international spread of the mainland still has some way to go.
In recent years, China's international communication products have been emerging, using products as a medium to expand their influence while trying to achieve emotional responses and action feedback from the "other".
CCTV launched a large-scale original cultural program "China in the Classics", introducing classic masterpieces in the presentation mode of "drama + film and television + cultural interview", which has received hundreds of millions of hits on overseas video websites.
The poster of CCTV's large-scale original cultural program "China in the Classics".
Chongqing International Communication Center has set up a professional team to combine with economic development to do the city's international communication.
Chongqing International Communication Center English website ichongqing.
Zhejiang Province has given full play to the first-mover advantage of Zhejiang's digital industry, organized enterprises to "go to sea" by carrying out international centralized procurement activities, and opened up a new channel for audio-visual literary and artistic works to go global.
Hunan Radio and Television strives to build an international communication system with Hunan characteristics, and takes the lead in building the Mango TV international APP in the country to achieve the goal of 260 million overseas users.
The communication characteristics of the era of "everything is a media" have allowed us to break through the barriers of technology and platform to a certain extent, and the speed and breadth of communication are not the same compared with the past. However, the international public opinion field is a broader and more complex position, under the premise of increasing international communication products, how to further cultivate the ability and level of communication art, and truly reach the hearts of the people while amplifying the volume?
By "potency"!
Regarding the word "effectiveness", Song Jianwu, a professor at Chinese People's University, said in a dialogue with Xiang Banjun that "effectiveness" means "effectiveness", and "more effective" means to further calibrate the direction and mode of expression on the basis of correcting the insufficient effect of international communication in the past, so that the people of the world can truly understand China.
To achieve such effectiveness, China's international communication must at least break through the "triple door".
Where are we facing
"Triple Gate"?
According to statistics, as of August this year, there are 84 local communication agencies in the country with the name of "International Communication Center", of which 11 will be established in 2024. Behind the continuous growth of the team, the three-dimensional pattern of international communication in the mainland is gradually taking shape, but if we want to further improve the effectiveness, we must see the "triple door" to break through in the current international communication.
On May 31, the inauguration ceremony of Zhejiang International Communication Center was held in Hangzhou.
The discourse system is the "first door". Someone once pointed out sharply that the mainland's international dissemination is "indistinguishable from inside and outside." That is to say, in the process of external communication, some media or communication organizations have a one-sided understanding of "positive propaganda", only seeing a high profile, not a good attitude, and blindly instilling political jargon, which is ultimately counterproductive. Wei Jianhua, deputy director of the Xinhua News Agency's international newsroom, mentioned at the forum that the Chinese media should make some changes in their international communication methods, strive to adapt to the new situation, and make "what should be hard and what should be soft soft" and make a good combination of punches.
Cultural barriers are the "second gate". Countries with different cultural backgrounds have different ways of language expression and understanding. China is a high-context country, and the contextual meaning is very rich, and the same sentence can have completely different meanings in different contexts, while Western countries are mostly low-context countries, and the expression is straightforward and easy to understand. If different cultures and national conditions are taken into account, then the dissemination and export will inevitably be ineffective.
Innovation promotion is the "third door". Giant pandas, Sanxingdui, and the quintessential Peking Opera are indeed very representative things of Chinese culture, but if we talk about international communication, we can't do without these "symbols", which are obviously conservative and lack innovation. "Shiyun: 'Those who travel a hundred miles are half less than ninety', this is the difficulty of the end." The same goes for innovation. At the critical historical juncture of the overlap of great changes and national rejuvenation unseen in a century, the innovation of international communication should not only be based on its own advantages, but also sprint in the world public opinion field.
Only when we can empathize can we have consensus
Only by breaking down barriers can it be effective
We often say, "Speaking is an art". International communication, obviously, requires a good "art of speaking". The "art of speaking" is not about clever words or elaborate decorations, but about arousing empathy in expression, reaching consensus, and finally forming effectiveness.
Promote empathy through commonality. Topics that are universal, permanent, and shared often mean the commonality of human emotions and the point of convergence of emotions. Take food culture as an example, some researchers combed through the top 100 Chinese channels on the Youtube platform and found that the top three users are all Chinese food. Food is a kind of vehicle that crosses borders, and the viewer can grasp the main content of the short video only through simple lens language such as food preparation and cooking, and then arouse empathy. Another example is the concept of "peace", the Beijing Winter Olympics conveyed the theme of "world unity, one world" with ubiquitous Chinese cultural elements and poetic and creative Chinese expressions...... Promoting empathy in the context of emotional commonality is undoubtedly more meaningful and effective than simplistic political statements.
Exchange empathy for empathy. Whether it can resonate in cross-cultural communication is one of the important criteria for judging "do or not" in international communication. Compared with the "flood irrigation" type of output and document copying publicity, telling the story with sincerity, making the communication "personified", integrating values into the story, and moisturizing things silently affect the world, which can resonate more. For example, the large-scale reports "Friends · Partners" and "Hunan Businessmen on the Silk Road to ASEAN·" planned by Hunan Daily, the former reflects the deep friendship between China and African countries through the stories of ordinary people who aid Africa, and has aroused wide resonance in African countries. The latter takes the struggle of Hunan businessmen in ASEAN as the background, and tells about the friendship and harmony in the commercial and cultural exchanges between China and ASEAN. On October 11, the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and East Asian Cooperation Leaders' Meeting ended in Laos·. This also proves that if there is resonance, it is attractive, and if it is attractive, it is influential.
"Friends and ·" large-scale integrated media report poster.
Loading...
"Hunan Merchants on the Silk Road in ASEAN·" promotional video.
On October 11, People's Daily, the newspaper of the Central Committee of the Lao Party, published a full-page news report introducing the development of Hunan businessmen in Laos and the large-scale media report of Hunan Daily's "Hunan Businessmen on the Silk Road of ASEAN ·".
Innovation for change. Whether it is to gain empathy or resonance, we need to achieve it through innovation, and innovation in international communication is undoubtedly an important part of the "systemic change" of media development. Last year, Wang Gang, deputy director of the Central Propaganda Department, said that it is necessary to trust young people, let young people take the lead and be the main force, and let the most "network-sensitive" people go overseas to tell Chinese stories. Young people are undoubtedly the biggest reserve force of "innovation", they are willing to challenge new things, dare to innovate, let them be the main force, can tap greater innovation possibilities in international communication, and at the same time, through the narration and display of young people, it can also make it easier for foreign countries to understand all aspects of China today. Of course, innovation has more than one dimension, it includes many aspects such as discourse, technology, and talent.
Nowadays, the changes in the pattern of international public opinion, the changes in discourse, and the changes in offense and defense are evolving in depth, and China's international communication has also been in hand. Therefore, only by taking the initiative to enter the game, building a good discourse system, and breaking through the "triple door" in terms of information visibility and narrative persuasiveness, can China be seen and deeply understood at the same time.
Source: Xiang Banjun
Edited by Xu Weiwei
Second instance Yang Tao
Third trial Pang Bo