The Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai Expo, the hundreds of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, and Beijing’s new English-language satellite news networks are all part of a grand Chinese soft power push: an effort to win the world through attraction rather than coercion. But how is China’s charm offensive playing around the world? This week, Sinica looks at different facets of soft power and asks whether China is making or breaking its public image.
Joining host Kaiser Kuo this week are Jeremy Goldkorn of the blog Danwei.org; Gady Epstein, Beijing bureau chief for Forbes magazine; and Evan Osnos, Beijing-based staff writer for The New Yorker and part-time enforcer in Kuo’s outlaw e-biker gang. We’re also proud to have extra commentary from Adam Minter, an American writer in Shanghai who brings us stories from his first-hand encounter with the 2010 Expo.
