How difficult it is for an authoritarian regime to shake off the global perception of being authoritarian. Making the world marvel at technological advances, delicacies, and diplomatic virtues while turning a blind eye to the prevalent censorship in the domestic cyberspace, extreme surveillance, and limits to freedom of expression. Filling the void left by those who once stood as bastions of freedom but have fallen into a moral collapse that is hard to reverse.
China has long been aware that it is losing the narrative battle in the uncontrollable major international media, always with a very critical stance. The most veteran correspondents in the Asian giant miss those times before the arrival of President Xi Jinping (2012), when information flowed without so many filters, politicians answered the phone, companies cheerfully opened their doors, and Western applications were not blocked. The current lockdown on external information, combined with internal control of local media, does not help foreign journalists better understand the complexity of such a large and diverse country. And even less so, to explain meticulously to their readers, listeners, or viewers the intricacies of the system that governs the Asian superpower without falling into the trap of viewing it from the perspective of a Western democracy.
In any case, Beijing officials have stopped trying to convince correspondents that their system is the only plausible one to make the powerful Chinese locomotive work. They do not need good press outside their borders because they have found another window to promote themselves and sell their best version to the world without uncomfortable questions. China's current soft power strategy involves having an army of foreign influencersto, for example, talk about the milestones of the ambitious infrastructure investment program in developing countries under the Belt and Road Initiative, without addressing the significant debt this has left in some very poor African nations. Or by taking famous Youtubers on trips to show them the fascinating development of politically sensitive regions, such as Tibet or Xinjiang, without any mention in the videos of the history of repression against Tibetans and Uighur Muslims in these places.
The Chinese government has been parading around its land for a few years with influencers with millions of followers who post videos on social media in English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, or Russian. But this year, with the global chaos caused by the emergence of Donald Trump in the White House, China's charm offensive strategy has spread to all corners. "The decline of the US is giving us a great opportunity for the world to get to know the real China," says a senior Chinese official.
In the diplomatic field, Beijing has presented itself as the only stable superpower, one that respects the international order and is ready to challenge Washington's hegemony. It is common to see almost every week a parade of politicians from friendly countries in Chinese cities, such as Spain. After the April visit of President Pedro Sánchez, a broad delegation of mayors and another of members of Congress have visited China. Both delegations were represented solely by politicians from the PSOE or its government partners.
Spanish-speaking audiences can find on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok a wide range of content creators fascinated by China's technological wonders. Some reside in the Asian country and do a selfless educational job. Others are on the Chinese government's payroll. And Latin American guests frequently arrive to participate in tours paid for by Chinese entities like the China People's Friendship Association (COFA), affiliated with the ruling Communist Party and tasked with extending China's influence worldwide. This is the same organization that funded the late April trip of over a dozen Spanish mayors, who were feted by local authorities in the capital and in futuristic cities like Chongqing and Hangzhou.
"The only instruction we were given was to show a different China than the one hidden in Western media"
"I was included in a group with journalists and influencers from other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to spend six months touring China. They treated us like royalty, inviting us to the best hotels and good meals. In big cities, they showed us all the technological developments, and in rural areas, the programs that have lifted millions of people out of poverty. The only instruction we were given was to show a different China that is deliberately hidden in Western media," explained an Argentine TikToker to this newspaper a few months ago.
One of the biggest victories for the Chinese brand occurred in late March when a 20-year-old American from Ohio named Darren Jason Watkins Jr. appeared in the Asian country. His real name probably doesn't ring a bell, but on social media, he goes by IShowSpeed and is one of the most popular streamers in the world. Especially among younger users. He has almost 40 million followers on YouTube and over 30 million on Instagram.
Speed continuously showcased the splendor of China's modern infrastructure, technological innovation, and vibrant millennia-old culture in a carefully planned itinerary by the authorities. The journey started in Shanghai, the financial capital, where he got into the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra supercar. "This car is electric and faster than my Lamborghini," he said, excited. In another broadcast, he highlighted that the internet connection in China was the best in the world. Although -ahem- he forgot to mention that he was connected to a VPN to make his videos: the apps he broadcasts for are censored in China...
"China's spectacular economic and military growth has not been accompanied by a similar growth in its soft power. This is due to multiple factors, such as the fact that Chinese cultural products, due to the enormous political control exerted by the Communist Party over culture, have been highly stereotyped, showing unattractive content to international audiences and disseminated through official channels, which causes foreign populations to identify that promotion with political propaganda," explains Mario Esteban, professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid, where he directs the Center for East Asian Studies, and principal researcher at the Real Instituto Elcano.
"The use of influencers projects a much more attractive image of the country to the international population, especially to the youth"
"In contrast, the use of international influencers, such as Speed's case, opens up enormous possibilities for increasing China's soft power because it projects an image of the country, both in form and substance, much more attractive to the international population, especially to the youth," concludes Esteban, who has been studying and traveling through the Asian country for over two decades. This year, he published Introduction to Contemporary China (Alianza).
During his trip, Speed amazed his followers with the modernity of the high-speed train he boarded to go to Beijing, where he dressed in traditional attire to visit iconic places like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. He also visited Dengfeng, the birthplace of Shaolin kung fu, and trained with a master of this martial art. In Chengdu, he visited the famous giant panda reserve, tried the spiciest hot pots and acupuncture, and attended a local opera. All of this was shown in live videos that gathered hundreds of thousands of people from around the world and, a few days later, already had over 10 million views.
In his other stops in Chongqing, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, Speed tried a car from the electric vehicle giant BYD that floated on water and another that flew. He bought a couple of Huawei phones with three foldable screens and ordered food from KFC that arrived flying with a drone. "Speed's trip has undoubtedly been one of China's greatest soft power triumphs. His broadcasts, aimed at millions of people, focused on an aspect of China that normally does not appear in Western media. The spontaneity of his videos allowed a view of the country without Western assumptions or clumsy state management," states a note published by the Lowy Institute, an American think tank.