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Vision

We Need to Convey the Concept of “He” to the World

Zhao Qizheng · 1 ·

The international community’s concerns about China should be tackled headon， and we need to explain why the Chinese system has its merits， where the country is headed， and why China is not a threat to others. To define the core meaning of contemporary Chinese culture， we need to give a concise， easy-to-understand answer. The best answer is the concept of “He （和）” . It is important that we discover the historical connotations of this word and expound on its current meanings in light of China’s modern history and the process of reform and opening.

Report

Suggestions for Shanghai’s City Public Diplomacy Strategy

Committee for Friendship with Foreign Countries of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee · 4 ·

The Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association and Shanghai Institutes for International Studies have jointly carried out an investigation and put forward some suggestions for Shanghai’s public diplomacy strategy. The strategy covers at least six aspects: definition & basic goal， situation analysis， strategic stages， project planning，strategy suggestion， and system & mechanism.

Special Topic Military Affairs & Public Diplomacy

The Mission of Public Diplomacy for the Chinese Armed Forces

Hu Changming · 11 ·

Chinese armed forces and their development are gaining increasing world attention，and misunderstanding as well. In order to play a greater role in safeguarding world peace and regional stability， the Chinese armed forces should build more platforms and make multilateral efforts to present their image to the world.This is the current mission of public diplomacy for the armed forces.

How to Firmly Push Forward China’s Military Public Diplomacy

He Yafei · 14 ·

A country’s hard power usually refers to economy and military affairs， while public diplomacy is part of its soft power. Military public diplomacy is a field where hard and soft powers combine with and influence each other. Despite a late start， China has made rapid progress in military public diplomacy. Along with sustained growth in our economic and military strength， we have to earnestly study and energetically develop military public diplomacy， so as to serve our foreign strategy and help realize the great renewal of the Chinese nation， which is the Chinese Dream.

The Process of the BBC’s In-depth Interview at the Chinese Military Academies and Relevant Reflection

Chen Xi · 22 ·

The urgent problem to be solved in the international communication work of the PLA is how to tell a convincing story， make our voice heard by more people and win more say in the world community. By introducing the first documentary made by a Western mainstream media about Chinese military academies， this article mirrors changes in the thinking of international communication work of the PLA in recent years.

Vigorously Promoting the Spread of Military Publicity Materials

Lu Canfeng · 29 ·

Making and issuing publicity materials is the traditional and effective practice of our publicity work. In recent years， the PLA has released a lot of military publicity materials around the world， on the basis of carrying forward this tradition of publicity. Meanwhile， some problems have cropped up， for example， in the contents， in the degree of internationalization of publicity and lack of multiple channels. The major problem is how to vigorously promote the spread of military publicity materials.

Constructing a Discourse System of National Defense with Chinese Characteristics

Zhen Ni · 35 ·

On August 19， 2013 President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at a national conference on publicity and ideological work， and gave an in-depth elaboration of theories and problems concerning the long-term development of China’s external publicity work. Xi pointed out that we should strengthen the construction of the discourse system， and create new concepts， scopes and descriptions that display a thorough understanding of China and the rest of the world， on the condition of comprehensively promoting opening-up， presenting a better interpretation of Chinese characteristics and enhancing China’s confidence in the face of international comparisons. We should let the world understand China’s stories and voices better， and strive to give the country and its people more say in the world community. President has charted a course for constructing the discourse system， and telling the stories and building the image of the Chinese armed forces.

The Obstacles to and Mission of China’s Military Public Diplomacy

Yue Peng · 42 ·

During the course of building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， China’s military public diplomacy will encounter obstacles， for example， the “China threat”theory， containment imposed by some big countries and lack of domestic public support. Therefore， we should focus on the following three missions: providing a security bonus to countries along the Road， promoting cultural exchanges between regions and countries， and building a new mechanism for the pursuit of common prosperity in non-traditional security fields.

Utilizing the Anti-Japanese War Mission to Promote China’s Public Diplomacy

Zhao Bingbing · 47 ·

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War as well as the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. At present， research and reports on the subject usually focus on Japan’s military invasion and the Chinese people’s resistance， especially the eight-year-long war of resistance agianst Japan. From the perspective of public diplomacy， it is clear that we can better link the past with the present and connect China with the rest of the world by highlighting the narrative of the Anti-Japanese War.

Comment

International Education Exchange Is Important Soft Power ResourceWith a faster pace in education internationalization， China sees expanding educational exchanges with foreign countries， which has taken a multi-form， multilayer and multi-faceted pattern. Being both academic and political， international education exchanges are an important means to carry out the national cultural strategy，conduct public diplomacy and improve national soft power. Our government should set considerable store by the political significance implied in international education exchanges， and fully tap the soft power resources hidden in international education exchanges by increasing input， carrying out educational exchanges in various forms，adjusting curricula， and some more measures.

Kuang Yanxiang， Chen Yang， Wu Yunbo · 53 ·

Traditional Chinese Medicine Can Be An “Effective Instrument” of Public Diplomacy

Xu Yicong · 60 ·

In conducting public diplomacy， traditional Chinese medicine can be used as an“Effective Instrument” because it has incredible charm to be explored as a treasure of the Chinese nation with 5，000 years of splendid history.

Interview

Promoting International Youth Communication

- An Exclusive Interview with Wan Xuejun， Director of International Department of All-China Youth Federation

Yu Fan · 65 ·

In recent years， youth foreign exchange activities have been carried out at all levels in different fields through multi channels. The foreign exchange activities takethe strategy of “inviting in” and “going out”. The International Department of All-China Youth Federation not only invites foreign youth to China to communicate with Chinese young people， they also send Chinese youth delegations to foreign countries. A journalist from the Public Diplomacy Quarterly had an exclusive interview with Wan Xuejun， director of the International Department of All-China Youth Federation， who shared his experience in international youth communication to provide enlightens to public diplomacy work in other fields.

Charhar Roundtable Meeting

The Concept of “He”: Core of China’s Public Diplomacy

Zhao Qizheng & Lyu Fengding， et al. · 72 ·

What best promotes international communication and exchanges and advances public diplomacy is the finding of a word to epitomize Chinese culture. So which word can work best？ How about the Concept of “He”？ On March 9， 2015 the Charhar Round Table on the Concept of “He” and China’s Public Diplomacy organized by the Charhar Institute was held in Beijing. Relevant experts and scholars were invited to discuss the theme of the Concept of “He” and China’s public diplomacy. This article is an excerpt of the opinions of some experts and scholars based on on-site shorthand notes.

Case Studies

US Education Exchange Program and Its Effect in Algeria

Fu Meirong， Saleima Khelkhal · 77 ·

Since the 9/11 attacks the US has been paying more attention to geopolitics in carrying out public diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa， highlighting twoway communication which takes the public as the main body， and the most important approach is to enhance mainstream Muslims’ understanding of the US through international education exchange programs. Sadly， the US Education Exchange Program has had little effect even in its “ally” Algeria. The reasons are: first， anti-American sentiment fueled by the continued US pursuit of hegemony in the Middle East and North Africa is hard to quash； second， in “l(fā)imit-and-be-limited” Algerian society， cultural and institutional obstacles lead to an absence of initiative on the part of program participants and of relevant support， thus weakening the driving force ofprogram participants in social activities.

The US Army’s International Disaster Relief Operations

Zheng Yu · 84 ·

As an important means and prop in advancing military public diplomacy，international disaster relief operations are highly regarded by the US army. The US army has accumulated useful experience in this regard， and its experience in publicity，Internet application and complementary legislation is particularly worth learning.

Policy Adjustment in Japan’s Public Diplomacy

Zhao Hua & Yang Xiaming · 91 ·

Since the turn of the new century， the Japanese government has launched a public diplomacy offensive by dint of public culture， foreign publicity and ODA. In addition to common public diplomacy resorts， these recent policy adjustments in Japan’s public diplomacy deserve attention.

Think Tank Building in State Media and Public Diplomacy: Status Quo and Vision

Huang Chao · 96 ·

For a long time， the state media， relying on its powerful international communication capability， has produced a positive public diplomacy effect through“media diplomacy，” and served as a pacesetter in improving China’s international influence and pursuing a bigger say in international affairs. It is a landmark in the history of China’s public diplomacy to initiate think-tank building in the state media to make it an “important vehicle of national soft power.”

Jimei District Government’s Practice of Public Diplomacy via Overseas Chinese

Guo Jianfeng & Xie Tingting · 104 ·

Since its inception in 2011， public diplomacy via overseas Chinese has been given considerable attention in the study of overseas Chinese and diplomacy， but most suchstudies take the central government as the major player and neglect the initiative of local governments in conducting public diplomacy via overseas Chinese. This article，taking the Jimei district of Xiamen City as an example， shows that local governments may have more initiative and leeway in conducting public diplomacy via overseas Chinese. It introduces the Jimei district government’s work experience， unique ideas and achievements in this regard， and raises pertinent suggestions.

Diplomatic History

Yuan Dynasty Official Zhou Guanda’s Diplomatic Mission to Cambodia and Its Significance for the Present

Cai Yixiang · 112 ·

Zhou Daguan lived and traveled in the Chenla Kingdom （today’s Cambodia）for over a year， and wrote The Customs of Cambodia， which introduces in detail that country’s society， politics， economy， customs and local products， having great value as a historical record. Efforts should be made to explore historical resources in relation to Zhou Daguan （once an official in Wenzhou） so as to make Wenzhou an important stage on the Maritime Silk Road. Besides， his historical legacy could help more enterprises and civil organizations become established in Cambodia and expand Wenzhou’s international influence.

Book Review

Good Dialogue: Communication Between and Introspection by Wise Men— Reading Riverside Talks

Chen Hong， Ding Feng · 116 ·

Riverside Talks， written by Zhao Qizheng and Luis Palau， and published by New World Press in 2006， can serve as a model of dialogue. The two persons not only accomplished a successful interpersonal interaction but also demonstrated to the world harmonious communication and effective dialogue between two countries or civilizations with utterly different positions and contrasting views. The two wise men did not confine their retrospection to themselves but directed it deeper - into human destiny as well.