Competing for Soft Power: China's Image-Making in Africa

Podcast: The US-China Podcast · National Committee on U.S.-China Relations

Opublikowano: 2026-08-21

With a growing young population, vast natural resources, and emerging technology hubs, countries across Africa have become key sites for diplomatic competition between the United States and China. Focusing on Ethiopia, Maria Repnikova examines the ambitious and disjointed display of Chinese diplomatic influence in Africa, developing a new theoretical approach to understanding China's practice of soft power, identifying the core mechanisms as tangible enticement with material and experiential offerings, promotion of values, visions, and governance practices, and censorial power over the production and dissemination of China narratives. Through in-depth field work, Dr. Repnikova builds a picture of...