CHINA’S IMAGE IN AFRICA RESTS WITH CHINA’S SUCCESSFUL STORIES IN AFRICA

PAUL ZILUNGISELE TEMBE

Research Fellow, Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute of South Africa

China’s image in Africa depends on an ‘African China success story’. First decade of the 21stCentury experienced a rise in efforts to cultivate public diplomacy among different nations to augment practices in bilateral relations. Public diplomacy has been mostly pronounced within the framework of soft power as a means of establishing appeal and grounding the likeability of one’s nation in foreign shores. China has been at the forefront of cultivating means of public diplomacy in their new spheres of influence as it positions itself on the global centre stage. The promotion and success of the Chinese Dream by President Xi Jinping ought to be viewed within the context of efforts by China to complement the usual foreign policy practices through public diplomacy. The use of the concept of Chinese Dream by China has managed to capture a universal handle that resonates with the mainstream global rhetoric on development and prosperity.

Promotion of the Chinese Dream has succeeded to mitigate perceived China threats, real or imagined as it ascends to the global centre stage. However,beyond the successful resonance of the Chinese Dream there seem to be lurking a void of China appeal in one central area: among the African grassroots population. The ubiquitous China activity in Africa risks translating into hard power as it lacks one primary element:popular appeal among the greater African masses. China is in an urgent need of tools that are meant to transform its hard power into palatable soft or smart power in Africa. Despite heightened relations and vast investments into the African continent, China still lacks institutional presence and viable popular lobby platforms such as popular culture, entertainment industry and sports, all of which combined help add the appeal of a guest nation to its host grassroots population. Accordingly,China-Africa relations ought to open spaces beyond official confines of intergovernmental platforms in order to advance soft power and public diplomacy efforts on both sides of the relationship.

THE NEED FOR A NEW CROSS-CULTURAL MODEL

The genesis and trajectory of crosscultural studies assumed a thesis that held Western civilisation as exclusive to all other cultures and it sought to understand how the ‘civilised world’ was to better communicate with the ‘native’ in order to make him/her accessible to colonial masters. Ethnographic studies of the late sixties sought to abandon the foundational Western civilisation ethos and adopt a more open perspectives as to the social, political, economic and cultural systems of other societies that did not consist those under the dominant Western cultural origins. However,even these ‘new’ studies had Western culture as the mirror of the normal that on which to contrast and evaluate the other. There are rare studies to this day that have attempted to study foreign cultures within their own terms and conditions. It seemed as if the ultimate goal of culture has been and continues to be the race towards the enlightenment as perceived and manifested within the construct of Western cultures and civilisation.

On the other hand there is evidence that China is not an innocent bystander when it comes to the practice of Western cross-cultural constructs in regarding other nations. There is evidence that with the rise of China to the world centre stage some Chinese scholarship on social sciences have tended regard people of other cultures beyond the West with the eyes cast in Western veil.Such tendencies may come to impede developmental efforts of China-Africa cooperation.

The first step that Africans and Chinese in general need to take in establishing cross-cultural communication strategies is to be cognisant of the past that was not authored by either party and seek to distance themselves from its claims and postulates. Secondly, both China and Africa ought to dig into their value systems and seek concepts and traditions that may serve as platforms and vehicles for amicable, win-win platform for carrying cross-cultural communications and strategies. It is imperative that both parties make deliberate efforts at understanding foundations that form each other’s value system and other aspects that impact on either society. Lack of an understanding to the underlying value systems that impact on either side stand to limit if not totally impede benefits to be had from China-Africa cooperation.

THE HAND OF CHINESE CULTURE AS CHINA SPREADS INTO THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

Each party that enters into a relationship, be it personal, communal, societal,political, cultural or economical must totally believe in the viability and final gains of such an interaction. The China-Africa cooperation reads as a partnership aimed at a paradigm shift to better lives of either societies.However, not all parties that consist China-Africa cooperation want one and the same thing, each party in the game aims at strengthening their own standing; be it national, regional, continental or even global. One such instance is embedded on the fact Africa as a major player of the China-Africa cooperation framework consist of a variety of national states each with its specific needs. Observation of diversities that consist China-Africa cooperation point once again on the importance of understanding diverse value systems and cultures of each member state in order for the relationship to yield maxim benefits for all concerned parties.

Understanding of each other’s value systems within the China-Africa relation will help contextualise as to why China tends to rely on government driven mode of practice in both domestic and foreign territories. Reliance on governmental frameworks for practices in China-Africa cooperation has found China losing traction with the grassroots populace on the African continent. The reason for such estrangement stems from the fact that governments in Africa have limited public spaces and do not usually manifest beyond spaces of administration and governance. In short, African population is accustomed and particular about separation of spaces upon which the conduct everyday practices. A large portion of African space is regarded as private individual space leaving a minute portion for official and government involvement and influence. The above observation may bring forth the following question: why does then China continue to rely on governmental frameworks and institutions for its practices in China-Africa cooperation?

The present author may be tempted to argue that China conducts its practices in Africa as it would in China.However, such an answer may sound hollow and bored to accusations of China attempting to export its ideology into Africa. Instead of such a simplistic answer, the present author suggests to look deeper into foundational concepts that impact China’s practices in the China-Africa cooperation. China is a nation and culture that is founded and governed through familial value system. That is, the conceptual framework of a traditional family structure and hierarchy including extra-familial relations and its obligations replicates as a model for the social system in place in the People’s Republic of China.

China adheres to familial value system and enjoys high level of dependency upon the role of the physical and conceptual family networks for productions and distributions for all types of capitals that serve both the individual and the greater public. Such family networks consist in a traditional private sense, schools, work units, business partnerships and friendships groups family.Such structures serve to mark both conceptual and practical different stages and experiences of an individual’s trajectory from childhood to adulthood. It is within such frameworks that Chinese individuals pay their dues to society and where credit and balances are maintained through a rigorous adherence to a variety of traditional Chinese cultural concepts. The present author would cite the ever present decorum in the Chinese society which is meant to preserve harmony through adherence to the concepts of Mianzi(conceptual face) and strong reliance on guanxi (safeguarding social networks) , as the ever present guidelines that cannot be separated from practice and sense of being of a Chinese individual. However, it is essential that different practices of different value systems don’t stand in the way of rationalising methods of pursuing twoway public diplomacy and soft power practices in China-Africa cooperation.

STRONG HAND OF THE ‘GOING-OUT’POLICY IN AFRICA

Post the year 2000 ‘Going Out’ policy China has made efforts at establishing what it regards as soft power and attempts at public diplomacy. The establishment of Confucius Institutes is representative of attempts at soft power and public diplomacy engagements by China. The benefits of Confucius Institutes to both China and Africa is that they serve to introduce Chinese culture beyond definitions classification of the world by the West. Confucius Institutes have further to a given extent managed to penetrate localities surrounding tertiary institutions where they are incubated through Confucius Classrooms.

Furthermore, the location and incubation of Confucius institutes at tertiary institutions may be viewed in the light of China’s attempt at fast tracking the establishment of institutional memory on the African continent competing with the long standing British Council,Francois Alliance and Goethe Institutes.However, lack of critical studies within Confucius Institutes may give rise to criticism that it only offers inward, limited and selective view of China. The inward looking tendencies of this body aimed at establishing soft power and public diplomacy may come to shun away a variety of issues that impact on Africa’s development. It may also stand to impede transmission of important lessons to be derived from Chinese culture as presented by Confucius Institutes.

In further attempts at building public diplomacy, China has mastered the art of what the present author calls connecting the dots. China has spared no efforts, financially and otherwise in organising study trips to China for African politicians, bureaucrats, scholars and journalists to study its governance system and to ponder upon China’s latest developments in technology, poverty alleviation, environment protection including successes in the fight against desertification. The wave short-study trips to China have succeeded in telling the past and present histories of China including its ascent into the international system. The short-study trips seem have helped understand Africans way of thinking about China in their admiration of its advances. However, innocent as these cultural engagements may be,the perpetual one-way public diplomacy tendencies may do more harm as the focus is solely on the elite. In order for public diplomacy to thrive and enhance cooperation in China-Africa relations there is a need to establish an African narrative of a China story at a grassroots level.

目前，虽然关于我国古代图书收藏与管理等方面的论著颇丰，但笔者认为，古代图书管理与发展过程中，尚存仍需进一步考究与厘清的一些史实和问题。通过查阅相关史料，本文在古代图书馆的产生，古代藏书形式、古代典籍的整理与分类法演变等方面进行了梳理与探讨。

Where is China’s Good Story in Africa?

The recently inaugurated ‘People to People Exchange Mechanism’ [PPEM]program seem to have not left premises of politics of the elite. If not fast tracked,the PPEM will prove to be representative of yet another tool of China-Africa cooperation ‘one-way diplomacy’. The solution to the stalemate at establishing soft power and public diplomacy instruments between the parties of China-Africa frameworks may lie in the below suggested ‘two-step programme’. Both steps focus on providing spaces for Africans to tell a ‘Success African stories in China’ which in turn may read as‘China’s Good stories in Africa’. Such an undertaking stands to mitigate the ubiquitous tendencies of a good China story narrated by China dominating the entire realm of the China-Africa frameworks.

A ‘Good African China story’ and a‘Good Chinese Africa story’ draws support from the concepts of philosophy of language where well meant utterances may manifest as insurrectionary if not well suited or regarded as empowering to local individuals. The manner in which the ‘Good China’ story is today spread on the African continent via politics of the elite risks it to be experienced as insurrectionary to ordinary African grassroots citizens. The China story needs to conform to local African customs, traditions and culture and be expressed in terms and manner that is understood and palatable to local African communities. In short, in order for a China story to acquire the desired soft power and act as a tool of lasting public diplomacy in Africa it needs to be expressed in terms of local ‘conformity acts’ as previously suggested on the second section of the present article.

FIRST STEP: CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES AND MANDELA INSTITUTES SYNERGY

This section relies on the agreement documents between the Republic of South Africa and the People’s Republic of China. According to the ‘Five to Ten Year Strategic Programme for Cooperation between the Republic of South Africa and the People’s Republic of China 2015-2024,’ there is a need to establish instruments of reciprocity between the two nations. However, it is only China that has presence in Africa and that is able to deliver on the contents of the above document. Confucius Institutes and Chinese Cultural Centres are entities representative of the presence of China knowledge resource base in South Africa. The tendency seem to repeat itself throughout the African continent. Lack of South African or African knowledge resource bases in China may serve as a bone of contention in the near future and thereby impeding good relations in China-Africa cooperation frameworks.

The ‘first step solution’ to the above cited shortcomings may lie in the establishment of the Mandela Institutes in China. Such institutes would first reflect as reciprocal and symbolic gesture to the presence of Confucius Institutes in Africa. The choice of using the name‘Mandela Institutes’ is taken from similar proposals in the works that examine possibilities of establishing a twoway China-Africa soft power and public diplomacy platforms. Secondly, Mandela Institutes may serve as a locus for African knowledge base beyond confines of tertiary education, serve as a multipurpose‘Window to Africa’ and as a resource centre for African culture in China.

SECOND STEP: TERTIARY-OFFICIALLY SPONSORED AND SELF-GENERATIVE POPULAR CULTURE PLATFORMS

Apparent differences in value systems, customs and culture is one subject that takes prominence whenever China becomes a topic. Such differences are nowhere more nuanced than in the manner in which Chinese and Africans produce and consume elements of popular culture. In China tertiary institutions have historically played a prominent role in the production and consumption of popular culture. As a result, most of Chinese popular culture bears at its highest form of an official stamp, representative of a specific narrative that usually connects directly to either a historical moment or a social movement. In China avant-garde and sub-cultural genres are a rare occur-rence and enjoy limited spaces and audiences. The tendency may stem from a long history of classical genres that have stood the test of time such as the Beijing Opera and a myriad of other operatic traditions representative of all nationalities of China.

In Africa on the other hand popular culture enjoys limited spaces in both tertiary and official circles. Thus it is difficult to pigeonhole or conform African popular culture into a specific narrative of government or social movement.Most genres of popular culture be it in music, dance, film or fine arts generate patronage from private spaces and enterprise. As a result, popular culture on the African continent has developed a robust self-generative entertainment industry. The industry has thus developed diverse spaces of production and outlets such as festivals throughout the continent and beyond.

In view of the differences in the production and consumption of popular culture among Africans and Chinese the present article suggests making use of already existing platforms on either side of the China-Africa localities;through self-generative industries in Africa and tertiary and officially sponsored platforms in China. Example:artists from China may be invited to participate in a variety of popular cultural festival platforms already in existence in Africa, be it in music, dance,film including art exhibitions. Likewise African artists may be invited to perform on the already existing popular culture platforms in China covering a variety of suitable disciplines and genres. The work of matching up different acts from China and Africa should be left at the hands of the Chinese and African popular culture connoisseurs.

BENEFITS OF THE ‘TWO-STEP PROGRAMME’ FOR THE FUTURE OF CHINAAFRICA COOPERATION

First part of the ‘two-step programme’which proposes the establishment of an African knowledge resource centre in the form of ‘Mandela Institutes’ for spreading African histories and cultures stands to solve yet another immediate problem. It may provide spaces for internship or employment of a number of African China graduates that the present author has come to call ‘Orphans of the China-Africa Relations.’ The nomenclature ‘Orphans of the China-Africa Relations’ emerged with the observation that majority of African China graduates are not attractive to either Chinese or African markets. The growing number of China industry in Africa tend to have no use for African China graduates for various reasons. One prominent reason is that China industry in Africa seeks to learn systems that are dominant locally, which in most cases originate from the West. Such a scenario has witnessed African China graduates ending up in commercial cities of Guanzhou and Yiwu peddling goods to their countrymen with no possibility to use skills acquired during their studies in China. Providing spaces of employment for African China graduates may be a way to fast-track an ‘African China Success Story’ that has so far eluded China-Africa cooperation. Such a story will be representative of a long lasting and tangible tool of soft power and public diplomacy.

The second step which proposes engagements of African and Chinese popular culture platforms in respective localities stands to address the obscurity and absence of China among the African youth. The proposed undertaking becomes of essence in the realisation of a looming ‘African Youth Dividend’. In fifteen years time Africa will consist the youngest population on earth and it is therefore imperative that China establishes an amicable image for purposes of establishing a long lasting appeal on the African continent. Failure to act on the second part of the ‘two-step programme’ proposal may spell a bleak future not only for practices of soft power and public diplomacy on respective localities of the China-Africa cooperation but for the entire relationship. It is for purposes of China-Africa cooperation winning the race of likability with the above mentioned ‘African Youth Dividend’ that an ‘African China Success Story’ is necessary.

CONCLUSIONS

The present paper has argued that the focus on trade, industrialisation and human resource development alone,which all combined consist hard power short-changes the possibility of establishing feasible and sustainable soft power and public diplomacy suitable for sustainability of the China-Africa cooperation. The paper has also pointed out limitations of the Confucius Institutes as a platform of soft power and public diplomacy in China-Africa cooperation.It also sought to highlight the role of Chinese culture as an agent responsible for China’s reliance on government frameworks for practices in the China-Africa cooperation.

Relying on already existing agreements between governments of the Republic of South Africa and People’s Republic of China the paper proposed a ‘two-step programme’ aimed at establishing soft power and public diplomacy in China-Africa cooperation.The first part aims to establish Mandela Institutes in China as counterpart to Confucius Institutes in Africa. Mandela Institutes are meant to serve as a base for knowledge on African history, culture and contemporary lifestyle.The second step proposes popular culture engagements between China and Africa. The model suggests that China provides spaces for African entertainment industries within already existing popular culture consumption platforms in China. Likewise, African popular culture connoisseurs ought to invite Chinese artists to perform in a variety of festivals that take place in Africa. In short, each side ought to find means to promote and consume elements of each other’s popular culture within already existing frameworks and spaces on either side of the China-Africa cooperation.

The paper concluded by stating that implementation of the ‘two-step soft power and public diplomacy programme’ would not only better the image of China in Africa and vice-versa but it stands to serve as a solution to secure the unforeseeable future of the China-Africa cooperation.