This article is a column written by Wang Huiyao, director of the Globalization Think Tank (CCG), for Beijing Youth Daily, which was published on July 25, 2021.
The international narrative of the rising China needs to be improved, and the international communication capacity needs to be strengthened. We need to think about how to create a strong, humble, friendly, credible, respectable and lovely international image in a way that is understandable and acceptable to the international community, and to influence the international community, especially the vast number of ordinary people in Western countries, in a way that is understandable and acceptable to the international community. This is a proposition of the times that concerns the whole people, and it is necessary to create a multi-level, multi-subject, and diversified narrative system. The relevant departments of foreign affairs and the mainstream media play a guiding role, and think tanks, scholars, enterprises, social organizations and the general public can also play an important supplementary role.
When presiding over the 30th collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that it is necessary to deeply understand the importance and necessity of strengthening and improving international communication work under the new situation, devote great efforts to strengthening international communication capacity building, form an international discourse power that matches China's comprehensive national strength and international status, and create a favorable external public opinion environment for China's reform, development and stability. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech provides a fundamental guideline for strengthening China's international communication capacity building.
In recent years, China has faced a more complex and severe international public opinion environment, and the overall Voice of China on the international stage has gradually strengthened, but there are also problems such as the lack of some fields, insufficient international influence, and inappropriate narrative methods. In the face of the new development stage and the new orientation, in the face of the current complex international situation, the task of improving China's international image is arduous.
On the one hand, under the guidance of Western stereotypes and tendentious reports, China's international image has been repeatedly distorted and stigmatized, undermining the credibility of China's international discourse. In particular, since the outbreak of the epidemic more than a year ago, although China has achieved remarkable results in fighting the epidemic and actively promoted international anti-epidemic cooperation, polls in the United States and Europe show that some people's understanding of China is still biased, biased or distorted.
On the other hand, the international narrative method of the rising China needs to be improved, and the international communication capacity needs to be strengthened. We need to think about how to create a strong, humble, friendly, credible, respectable and lovely international image in a way that is understandable and acceptable to the international community, and to influence the international community, especially the vast number of ordinary people in Western countries, in a way that is understandable and acceptable to the international community. This is a proposition of the times that concerns the whole people, and it is necessary to create a multi-level, multi-subject, and diversified narrative system. The relevant departments of foreign affairs and the mainstream media play a guiding role, and think tanks, scholars, enterprises, social organizations and the general public can also play an important supplementary role.
The Globalization Think Tank (CCG) recently held a seminar on "China's New Narrative" and the author and CCG Secretary-General Dr. Miao Lu co-authored the book "I Say China to the World". In recent years, CCG has been active in the international arena such as the Mu'an Association, the Paris Peace Forum, and the Davos Forum, and has made some innovative and breakthrough efforts to tell the Chinese story, spread the Chinese voice, and show the true, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China, and has made some achievements, accumulated a lot of experience in track II diplomacy, and has some experience in the participation of non-governmental forces in building a new narrative in China.
First of all, folk narratives can be more objective and rational expressions, upholding a humble and confident, inclusive and equal dialogue posture in communication, and speaking with facts and data. We should pay attention to the Chinese narrative from the conceptual and macro levels, and also strengthen the communication and exchange of facts and data, sometimes facts and data are easier to understand and accept. At the same time, modesty does not mean lack of self-confidence, tolerance does not mean no position, in foreign exchanges can each tell their own ideas and views, uphold a humble and equal dialogue posture, rather than necessarily with a sharp tone to seek persuasion or overthrow each other. Being able to spread our own ideas is an effective communication in itself, even if it cannot convince the interlocutors, but to make more people willing to listen and understand our ideas, is a very effective international communication.
Secondly, in the international narrative, we should pay more attention to emotional resonance, not only to tell the story of China, but also to listen to and understand the history, culture and practical needs of other countries, and to talk more about the common values and universal issues of China and other countries. Emotional resonance points are the common denominator of international exchanges, and it is often the details that can really move people. Our understanding of many countries in the world is still very insufficient, we must understand other countries in more listening, and organically combine what we want to express with what the other party wants to hear, and show the openness, inclusiveness, friendliness and sincerity of Chinese culture on the basis of empathy. Pay attention to emphasizing global common values, mostly telling China's story with global common values as a reference, telling the story and details of China's contribution to globalization from a multilateral perspective, and using the logic of others to understand the logic of China's own development.
Third, we must take the initiative to go out, welcome them extensively, have the courage to face different opinions, actively express our voices in international mainstream forums and media, and pass on Chinese voices and Chinese stories to more people through mainstream channels of international communication. In the case of the dominance of western discourse power, it is very important to accept an interview from the international mainstream media, and we should avoid refusing to accept the other party's visit because the other party is not friendly or has a view that is difficult for us to accept. At the same time, in the era of social media development, if you want to be understood by more young generations, you also need to speak out through international social media. We must have the courage to reach out to groups with different opinions and not to be reluctant to contact them because the other party's opinions are different from ours.
There are many amiable and lovely things about the real China, and it is indeed credible and respectable, and we must have confidence and confidence in this. In the era of great development of public diplomacy and social media, everyone has the right to speak, and can give full play to the complementary and promotional role of people-to-people diplomacy in intergovernmental diplomacy. Because scholars are more professional, authoritative and theoretical, they are often able to expound Chinese concepts and Chinese solutions more clearly and thoroughly, and people from all walks of life can also participate in telling Chinese stories and showing Chinese style through social media, etc. The two complement each other and complement each other.
When we can set the agenda and guide the direction of public opinion, we can play a more active guiding role on the international stage, so that more people in more countries can pay attention to and understand the topics we are discussing. When more positive, positive, and multilateral and cooperation issues become public topics, and when discussions about China involve more topics such as China's contribution and China's mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with other countries to address global challenges, the world will improve its views on China in further understanding China.
This article was published in Beijing Youth Daily, July 25, 2021
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