China's Public Diplomacy Towards Gabon:Means,Problems And Recommendations

This thesis is an analysis of China's Public Diplomacy towards Gabon,a small developing country located in Central Africa having a democratic system and ancient colony of France.The study investigates on the means that China uses to approach Gabon,the problems that it faces and suggests some recommendations that could help to remedy this situation and improve it.The research looks into the dynamism of Sino-Gabonese relations of cooperation(since 1974 when Gabon severed Taiwan's diplomatic status),Gabon's current situation in political and economic order and Gabon-France relations,this latter being its ancient colonial power.In fact,Gabon is an ancient French colony and got its independence in 1960.Rich in natural resources,Gabon is linked to France by several agreements and France has enormous interests that preserve by its strong presence.French companies dominate Gabonese economy and is present militarily as well.Public Diplomacy is regarded as the last but not the least important of the various instruments of national power.Thinking otherwise of such an approach is wrong.It encompasses not only discourse but also public actions.Public Diplomacy extends well beyond the activities of the state.It is also about mobilizing resources from the private sector and is strengthened by society as well as culture.China and Gabon relationship is based on economic and political ties.By China's Public Diplomacy,too many things have been made.Their friendship relation is visible in the infrastructural development by the construction of Parliament and Senate,Roads,bridges;in the health sector by the establishment of a Sino-Gabonese Hospital and Chinese Government sent over 400 doctors.In the education sector,numerous scholarships that Chinese Government are being granted to Gabonese students every year.In fact,China is one of the lever in the Gabonese economic development projects.The two partners share similar missions which are that of developing their economies and improving living standards.The excellence of their bilateral relations opens a wide avenue of cooperation on which the two countries are committed with great determination.This cooperation matches to the fundamental interests of both countries and responds to the aspirations of the people.However,since the establishment of their diplomatic relations,China and Gabon have benefitted from an excellent and fluent relation of cooperation even though they do not have the same political system.The Chinese political system drives its Public Diplomacy towards Gabon.The latter could have an impact of its own political structure.Indeed,the Chinese political culture identifies itself to its Public Diplomacy.In view of their excellent relations,this difference related to the political and cultural order is not a disadvantage because these are two governments with the same vision in terms of development that decided to work together for the development of their respective countries and the well-being of the two peoples.Then,it seems that China's Public Diplomacy towards Gabon does not face any problems but following interviews,China's Public Diplomacy is facing various challenges in its implementation in Gabon and therefore solutions need to be found through genuine consultations in order to promote effective collaboration.It is in this light that China's PD can be applied in the Sino-Gabonese partnership.Moreover,many Gabonese people ignore China's activities in Gabon.In other terms they are wondering about China and Gabon cooperation and the benefit of the two countries.For many among them,they rest on the allegations relayed by News export about China's presence in Africa and contribute to its bad reputation.This favor the misunderstanding about China's Public Diplomacy.China and Gabon relation is clearly perceptible in the interactions under Government-to-Government dimension but Gabonese people lack of better understanding of China.Despite their friendship,China's Public Diplomacy in Gabon is evolving in the situation where France dominates.Gabon depends on France for the financial plan because its currency is guaranteed by France and therefore it is not really free in its choices of economic development projects.To this effect the main question derived from the topic is "What are the existing problems in China's Public Diplomacy towards Gabon?" From this,the following secondary question could emanate:"How to improve China's Public Diplomacy towards Gabon?"The main argument raised from these questions is that,China's Public Diplomacy towards Gabon has been an impulse in the consolidation of Gabonese economic development and the improvement of such sectors as education,infrastructure,health etc.Nevertheless it has some flows:the limited cultural export,the barrier of language,the political approach,the challenging influence of France over Gabon and the influence of Media and News agencies.For this purpose,some suggestions aiming at solving these problems could be:the containment of the negative effects of the economic partnership,better promotion of Chinese culture and a focus on other sectors for improving China's image in Gabon.The thesis is divided into five(5)chapters:Chapter One highlights the general understanding of Public Diplomacy as well as China's Public Diplomacy.This chapter sets an overview of the research which includes background of the research,research question and main argument,significance of the research,literature review,methodology and structure of the thesis.Chapter Twoexplores the different means that China uses in its conduct of Public Diplomacy towards Gabon.In this chapter we can clearly see the role of Public diplomacy in China's Foreign Policy.Chapter three investigates China's Public Diplomacy problems,in its approach towards Gabon but also sets an evaluation of China's PD towards Gabon by highlighting the question of China's PD perception among Gabonese people.Chapter fourprovides some recommendations for the improvement of China's Public Diplomacy towards Gabon.These improvements correspond to the expectations of Gabonese people and the success of China's PD towards Gabon.Chapter five lays out a summary of the thesis,elaborates on the findings of the research and states the personal point of view of the researcher.