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The Economist December 16th 2017 Briefing China and the West 21
2 abroad in areas where it wants to muzzle and unrest among ethnic Uighurs in Xin-
criticism, such as its political system, hu- Outward bound 1 jiang. Springer and Cambridge University
man-rights abuses and expansive territori- China, foreign direct investment Press complied but, following furious criti-
al claims. It especially wants to stifle dis- Outward flows, $bn cism in the West, CUP reinstated the items.
cussion of the Dalai Lama, Falun Gong, an 200 In November, atshortnotice, an Austra-
outlawed spiritual movement, and the Tia- lian publisher withdrew a book, “Silent In-
nanmen Square protests of1989. 150 vasion”, citing possible defamation suits
China is hardly alone in trying to shape from “Beijing’s agents of influence”. For
howthe world seesit. And itssharp power, those already anxious about rising Chi-
100
though growing rapidly, is not its first at- nese intervention, the news appeared to
tempt at the game. Over the years China 50 confirm their worst fears—and substanti-
hasoften tried to silence criticism of itspol- ate the academic’s argument, summed up
itics by denying visas to critical journalists in the volume’s subtitle, “How China is
and academics and by giving a cold-shoul- 2000 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 0 turningAustralia into a Puppet State”.
der to unsympathetic governments and Source: UNCTAD It is not only publishers that are feeling
firms. It has also attempted to monitor and China’scoercive powers. AFrench film fes-
control ethnic Chinese living outside the tival this summer decided not to screen a
country, using Chinese-language media times reports to the authorities back home Chinese feature that painted a dreary and
and China-backed community groups. on people who take part in activities seen bleak image of contemporary China. It
China has long used soft power, too. as hostile to the party (an Australian aca- cited “official pressures” from the Chinese
Roughly 500 government-funded and gov- demic says that for this reason, many Chi- authorities as the reason.
ernment-staffed Confucius Institutes oper- nese students ask to be put in tutorial Chinese ownership of firms abroad
ate in universities and 1,000 “Confucius groups without otherChinese). may also be a threat. Last year16 members
classrooms” in schools around the world, Disquiet at China’s presumed interfer- ofAmerica’s Congress requested a govern-
mostlyin rich countries. The institutes do a ence is spreading around Western democ- ment review of foreign activity in certain
good job of teaching Chinese to foreigners racies. Itisnowgrowingin America, where strategic industries: they cited particular
but they would be unlikely to convince Chinese influence to date has been mostly unease about Dalian Wanda, a Chinese
students in the West that China’s authori- under the radar. Nevertheless, James Clap- property firm that owns a Hollywood stu-
tarianism is admirable, even ifthey tried. per, director of national intelligence until dio as well as two cinema chains in Ameri-
Sharp power wraps all that up in some- January 2017, warned after stepping down ca, because of “growing concerns about
thing altogether more sinister. It seeks to of a danger of complacency, saying that China’s efforts to censor topics and exert
penetrate and subvert politics, media and China’s growing influence threatened to propaganda controlson American media”.
academia, surreptitiously promoting a undermine the “very fundamental under-
positive image of the country, and misrep- pinnings” ofthe political systemsof Amer- The long arm ofthe state
resenting and distorting information to ica and Australia. Other Chinese state-backed organisations
suppress dissent and debate. China’s Some political leaders, academics and have been trying to strengthen their part-
sharp power has three striking characteris- think-tanksare startingto push back. Atthe nerships with Western think-tanks and
tics—it is pervasive, it breeds self-censor- hearing on Capitol Hill this week, Senator universities, partly in order to limit criti-
ship and itishard to nail down proof thatit Marco Rubio, co-chair of the Congressio- cism of China and its policies. Many such
is the workofthe Chinese state. nal Executive Commission on China, ex- institutions in the West thirst for cash; tak-
pressed frustration that policymakers and ingitfrom Chinese institutions(all ofthem
Sharp elbows business leaders seem “asleep” while Chi- in China have party links) has become an
Start with its pervasiveness. Most govern- na mounts “insidious” attacks on academ- “almost normalised” practice, says Peter
ments and intelligence agencies ignored ic independence and free expression, and MattisofJamestown, a think-tankin Wash-
China’s manipulations because they be- co-optsAmerican firmsoruniversities daz- ington, DC. In Australia MrHuang, the Chi-
lieved that state surveillance and interven- zled by the size ofthe Chinese market. nese businessman who had donated mon-
tion were mainly directed at the country’s The hearing discussed elaborate efforts ey to political parties, also gave almost
diaspora. They were mistaken. The target to control Chinese studentsin America. So- A$2m to help launch the Australia-China
now seems to include the widersociety. phie Richardson of Human Rights Watch, Relations Institute, a think-tank in Sydney.
Confucius Institutes have turned an NGO, described Chinese police visiting He has since resigned from its board.
sharper. Many cash-strapped universities the parents ofa student who two days ear- Even without direct pressure from Chi-
have replaced their own language courses lier had raised “touchy subjects” in a nese officials, bosses on Western campus- 1
with curriculums led by the institutes. In closed-door college seminar in America.
some places the institutes have set up en- Mr Rubio noted government attempts to
tirely new China-studies programmes. curb enrolment by Chinese students at the Minds broaden the travel 2
Though most do not actively push the University ofCalifornia in San Diego, after China, students in tertiary-level
party line, they often restrain debate about a speech by the Dalai Lama there. Mean- education abroad, ’000
China by steering discussion away from while, Chinese attempts to co-opt public 800
sensitive subjects. officials and academics, even at state and
Occasionally China’s motives are more local level, continue apace. Chinese opera-
obvious. State-backed organisations such tions are “an extraordinarily important 600
as the Chinese Students and Scholars As- geopolitical issue,” said MrRubio.
sociation (CSSA), often funded by Chinese The immediate aim of Chinese sharp 400
embassies, have become more assertive. power is often self-censorship. Sometimes
The CSSA offers assistance to the growing that takes pressure. In August the Chinese 200
number of Chinese students on foreign government asked a number of academic
campuses (see chart 2). It helps them settle publishersto censortheirdatabasesof aca- 2000 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 0
in by, forexample, organisingsocial events. demic articles to exclude sensitive subjects Source: UNESCO
It also keeps an eye on students and some- such as the Tiananmen Square protests