Domestic Accounts of China’s Belt and Road Initiative as an Internally Oriented Soft Power Exercise

Runping Zhu, Zhipeng Ma and Richard Krever
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Runping Zhu: Beijing Normal University—Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, Zhuhai, China. runping.zhu@outlook.com
Zhipeng Ma: Lanzhou University, Gansu, China. mazhipenggo@foxmail.com
Richard Krever: University of Western Australia, Australia. rick.krever@uwa.edu.au

China Report, 2025, vol. 61, issue 1, 63-76

Abstract: China’s Belt and Road Initiative is one of the world’s largest and most significant externally oriented soft power initiatives. Originally envisaged as a series of development projects in countries on historic land and sea trade routes between China and Europe, the initiatives quickly expanded to encompass projects around the globe. The projects, funded using Chinese finances and carried out for the most part by Chinese contractors, provide tangible benefits for recipient countries, such as ports, bridges, train systems, telecommunication systems, medical assistance, and much more. The project outputs provide invaluable soft power benefits for China. Separately, the Chinese government is able to use descriptions of the projects as internally oriented soft power tools that can enhance domestic support for the government and the Communist Party by describing the benefits for China that flow from the Belt and Road projects. This article reviews messaging about the Belt and Road initiative projects posted online for Chinese readers to see how the Chinese government has created internally oriented soft power messages based on its projects abroad.

Keywords: Internally focused soft power; Belt and Road; China; nationalism; national identity; Communist Party of China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:chnrpt:v:61:y:2025:i:1:p:63-76

DOI: 10.1177/00094455241289183

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