Confucius Institutes v2 (1)

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CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF CHINA’S SOFT POWER 51By the end of 2009, China had helped other developingcountries build more than 130 schools, and funded 70,627 studentsfrom 119 developing countries to study in China. In 2009 alone, itextended scholarships to 11,185 foreign students to study in China.Furthermore, China has dispatched nearly 10,000 Chinese teachers toother developing countries, and trained more than 10,000 principalsand teachers in those countries. 23All of these efforts can be understood as part of China’s publicdiplomacy strategy. Some scholars even argue that “Africa is perhapsthe most important testing ground for the promotion of Chinese soft24 25power.”There cannot be any doubt that “China is now a powerful forcein Africa, and the Chinese are not going away.” 26 While Westernobservers are concerned with the question of whether China willcreate new modes of dependencies through its aid projects, Chinesescholars argue that China’s aid to Africa is based on the principlesof sustainability and “mutual benefit rather than charity.” 27 In herstudy of China’s aid and economic cooperation with Africa, DeborahBräutigam concludes that “China’s rise in Africa is cause for someconcern, but it need not evoke the level of fear and alarm raisedby some who have condemned China’s aid and engagement asdestabilizing, bad for governance, and unlikely to help Africa to endpoverty.” 28 Bräutigam argues that many of the fears about Chineseaid and engagement “are misinformed, the alarm out of proportion,”especially because “China’s aid is not huge.” In fact, the traditionaldonors give far more aid to Africa and China’s export credits aremuch larger than its aid, but not as large as commonly believed 29(emphasis in original).According to a more recent study, China’s official aid to Africareached $75 billion between 2000 and 2011, with the establishmentof 1,673 Chinese-backed or financed projects in 50 Africancountries. 30 Observers conclude that China’s financial commitments“are significantly larger than previous estimates of the country’sdevelopment finance, though still less than the estimated $90bn
52 CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF CHINA’S SOFT POWERthe U.S. committed over that period.” 31 Another study on China’sForeign Aid and Government-Sponsored Investment Activities(FAGIA) notes that between “2001 and 2011, 49 countries in Africareceived approximately $175 billion dollars in pledged assistance,making it the second largest regional recipient of aid behind LatinAmerica with $186 billion.” 32 The reason for the striking differenceof $100 billion U.S. is that both studies use different categories,because in general it is not clear what counts as Chinese aid. 33 Thislack of clarity is related to the fact that the Chinese government“releases very little information on its foreign aid activities, whichremain state secrets.” 34Independently, while some observers argue that “the bottomline is China’s thirst for natural resources, others argue Beijing’sdevelopment projects on the continent—from infrastructure todebt relief to providing medical support—are also part of a publicdiplomacy strategy to build up goodwill and international supportfor the future.” 35 In this regard, Strange et al note that from 2000to 2011 there were 103 official development assistance projectsin education for which China spent U.S. $71 million. 36 Chineseeducation and training programs target students from across thecontinent. These projects “are all about diplomacy, about soft power... like the Alliance Française and the British Council ... all aboutpresenting China as an important global player. All the big countriesdo this” 37 Wolf et al directly mention Confucius Institutes in thiscontext although they state that Confucius Institutes’ connectionswith FAGIA “are somewhat tenuous” 38 Wolf et al note that:CIs also assist China’s domestic efforts to finance and expandeducation of undergraduate students and graduate studentsfrom foreign countries. Although CI funding levels are notpublicized, they are negligible compared to the scale of FAGIA.Nevertheless, they share with FAGIA the aim of enhancingChina’s appeal, attractiveness, and influence in the globalarena—hence, its “soft power.” 39
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Confucius Institutes v2 (1)

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