GW Prof.: China’s Soft Power Limited And Declining

An ongoing series of speakers kicked off its schedule Wednesday night with distinguished GW Prof. David Shambaugh speaking to interested students, faculty, and members of the community about China’s declining soft power and global strategies of international influence.
Speaking to an audience of about 90 people in the Elliott School, China’s soft power, their ability to shape the preferences of international audiences by co-option rather than coercion, Prof. Shambaugh explained, is weak and in decline.
“China has a mixed global perception in polls,” with human rights violations, such as Tibet and the treatment of ethnic Uyghurs, dragging down many polls, Mr. Shambaugh stated.
He explained that both governmental campaigns, such as the distribution of carefully phrased slogans relating to peace (“China’s Peaceful Rise”) and nongovernmental ventures, such as increased tourism and more Chinese students studying abroad, have failed to stem the decline in the perception of China.
Recognized as a leader in his field, Mr. Shambaugh’s experiences of the last year in China as a Fulbright Scholar, his past position as editor of The China Quarterly, his Senior Fellowship with The Brookings Institution, and the Director of the China Policy Program here at GW, were on clear display Wednesday night.
When discussing how to resolve China’s declining influence problem, Mr. Shambaugh stated that though they possess “enormous resources,” China has “no real strategy.” They need to “get out of the way of society” and get rid of their “inept public diplomacy.” “China’s soft power,” he concluded, “is much more fiction than fact.”