Foreign Aid And Soft Power:A Comparative Research Of American And Chinese Aid To Africa

Chinese and American political and economic systems are very different from each other,and this difference comes from their differing historical development and ideologies.American and Chinese foreign aid also reflects this difference,where they not only differ in motivation and goals but also in the kinds of aid given.The reason to compare American and Chinese aid is because,unlike Europe,these two countries have never had colonies in Africa.Therefore,both the United States and China need to spend more time convincing African countries that establishing relations with them is beneficial to their own self-interests.This paper will compare the United States and China's aid to Africa and will assume that the reason for the difference in foreign aid between the two countries lies in the different experiences in their respective development processes.Similar to Africa,China experienced a semi-colonial period dominated by Western powers.Since China is still a developing country and supports many independent movements in sub-Saharan Africa,the author believes that China's approach and attitude toward foreign aid and its attitude towards development arc more easily accepted by Africans than the United States,approach.This topic is very important,because through this research we can see the impact of foreign aid on national prestige and power competition.Through this research,we can understand how foreign aid can improve the soft power of a country.To analyze my hypotheses,I use historical analysis,case studies,and opinion polls to synthesize materials.First,I describe the historical background of the foreign aid between the two countries and try to explain the reasons why China and the United States have different kinds of aid from a historical point of view and try to analyze the domestic and foreign factors that shape the foreign aid of each country,as well as their goals and motivations.In addition,I research whether there is a direct relationship between the amount of aid given by a country and public opinion.Next,this paper analyzes four cases of' foreign aid.Two of the case studies arc from China,and the other two case studies are from the United States.The goal is to compare the effectiveness of the two Chinese foreign aid projects and the two US foreign aid,with my sources first based on the official media and then on the local African media.The report will describe these projects in detail.In addition,this paper compares it with non-official media,especially those from African countries,to see how foreign aid projects are reported.Through the comparison between the official media and the African media,it helps to understand the relationship between aid projects and public opinion.In the next sectiio,this paper provides survey results from different agencies,including the Afrobarometer and the Pew Research Center.Through public opinion surveys we can see the entire country 's impression of another country.Joining public opinion surveys with case studies can provide a better overall picture of the trends in China and the United States.Through public opinion surveys,this paper also tries to find out whether there is a direct relationship between the amount of aid provided and the public's perception of the United States and China.A simple correlation will prove that the amount of aid is sufficient to increase soft power,but the lack of correlation means that other factors are at work.Through the analysis of case studies and surveys,it has been found that aid effectiveness is based on many factors,such as the quantity,methods,and types of aid,and therefore has a different impact on the economies of recipient countries.In addition,there are many factors that can help the country's soft power more than foreign aid.Foreign aid is only a small factor in improving the country's overseas image.A complicated phenomenon is that China's foreign aid amount is not directly related to local public opinion.Aid itself is an important determinant,but it is not the main determinant of soft power.Soft power is an concept and therefore difficult to quantify.Through case analysis from the micro perspective,and through public opinion surveys,some meaningful results have been obtained through the analysis of soft power.However,this paper proves that there is no direct relationship between foreign aid and soft power.The two countries' approaches are not very important in determining the acceptance or resonance of foreign aid.There are many other factors,including politics,media portrayal,cultural exports and trade,which have left the African people with an overall impression of the United States and China.For future research,comparing TV media with print media and analyzing whether it has a direct relationship with public opinion can enrich the content of this research.The author proposes to add multimedia methods in future research,with particular emphasis on television news media as analysis points.China and the United States can also help local Africans to understand their domestic efforts and achievements through publicity,thus helping to enhance their image.Because the judgment of soft power is very subjective,advertising programs may be as important as the quantity and effectiveness of foreign aid itself.