Exploring The Roots of The Chinese Soft Power

Abstract

This article attempts to explore the roots of the Chinese soft power. For a few decades, Chinese soft power is under the rigorous scrutiny of the western media. The western media is severely critical of the Chinese economic model, authoritarianism, democracy, and Confucius institutes. China promotes its soft power through its civilization, culture, trade, and economics, win-win model, Shared Destiny, and mutual respect. However, the previous scholarship on China has focused more on the rise of China, the power struggle between China and the US, the Chinese economic model, and authoritarian leadership, whereas events that have helped shape Chinese soft power are less explored. Based on the secondary sources of literature on Chinese soft power, this research aims to explore and explain how Chinese soft power has evolved in China.