China's cultural diplomacy in Southeast Asia from the 1990S to the present : a case study of Thailand and Vietmam

Abstract

From the early 1990s, China has been rising rapidly in terms of economic and also military power. While the rise of China has sparked a debate on a China threat theory in the arena of international relations, sense of concerns has also been felt in Southeast Asia, the neighboring region of China. However, this region plays an important role to the PRC's traditional security and economic reform. Therefore, it is in China's interests that it maintains friendly relations with its Southeast Asian neighbors. In this context, China's cultural diplomacy has been deployed as part of greater diplomatic efforts in the region to dispel the China threat and secure a stable, peaceful regional environment for its economic development. By using culture as a diplomatic tool, China can capitalize on the long history and uniqueness of its culture and the world's recently increased interest in Chinese culture and language. Furthermore, the aggressive promotion of Chinese culture and language to the world would also help China to resolve the 'cultural deficit' it is facing now. In case study of Thailand and Vietnam, it is found out that in its cultural diplomacy, China mainly focuses on the promotion of Chinese art and culture, Chinese language, educational exchange, tourism and media exchange. As Chinese language remains to be a great barrier to communication between China and the world, thus to success in the spread of Chinese culture, the promotion of Chinese language study appears to be the most important area of the PRC's cultural diplomacy, with the newly-invented but seemingly most aggressive tool, the Confucius Institute. With a lot of favorable conditions in Thailand and Vietnam and the delicacy in its conduct, China's cultural diplomacy has been received quite well in the two target countries and contributed to upholding the positive attitudes by both the leaderships and the public in Thailand and Vietnam towards China in general and its culture in particular. However, the level of perception towards China may vary in these two countries as they possess different settings in terms of history, politics, culture and demography in relation to China. On the surface, Thailand appears more enthusiastic about Chinese culture and language, while Vietnam seemingly looks to China more for a model in political reform and economic development.