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From Development to Security and Civilization: China’s Soft Power Strategy in the Middle East
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Abstract
This article focuses on examining how China promotes soft power in the Middle East through three global initiatives: the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). Drawing on Joseph Nye’s soft power framework and employing discourse analysis combined with document analysis, the article considers how development cooperation, security dialogue, and cultural exchange are articulated in China’s official narratives with regard to the region. The findings suggest that the GDI, GSI, and GCI together form an institutionalized set of soft power instruments through which ideas concerning sovereignty-oriented development, comprehensive security, and respect for civilizational diversity are conveyed. At the same time, the implementation of these initiatives raises issues related to transparency, the extent of cultural diffusion, and regional influence competition. On this basis, the article identifies several policy-relevant considerations for Vietnam in the context of participation in multilateral cooperation and the maintenance of strategic autonomy.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Keywords
China, soft power, the Middle East, global initiatives
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