A Comparative Study Of China-EU Soft Power Diplomacy In Central Asia

With the "Belt and Road" initiative was introduced,the status of Central Asian countries in China's diplomatic layout has been gradually improved,and the relationship between China and Central Asia has ushered in new development.While focusing on hard power relations,China has also continuously strengthened the development of soft power relations with Central Asian countries.However,China's soft power diplomacy has become a shortcoming in deepening cooperation with Central Asian countries."China Threat Theory","Economic Expansion Theory",and anti-China protests are emerging in Central Asia one after another.China's national image is seriously affected by these remarks and activities.Different from the dilemma faced by China's soft power diplomacy,the EU has won wide acclaim among Central Asian elites and people with its soft power advantages.It is of great significance to improve the level of China's soft power diplomacy by comparing the gains and losses of China's and EU's soft power diplomacy,as well as studying the problems existing in China's soft power diplomacy.On the basis of Joseph Nye's soft power theory,this paper draws on the elaboration of soft power theory by different scholars,and summarizes soft power into three analysis dimensions: power resources,the ability to use resources,and the acceptability of recipients.Starting from this dimension,it compares and evaluates the resources,practical tools and diplomatic effects of soft power diplomacy.The study found that in terms of soft power resources,both China and the EU have abundant soft power resources,but the biggest difference between China and the EU lies in the degree of modernization of cultural resources.The lack of traditional values in the context of modern governance couldn't attract Central Asian countries.In the practice of soft power diplomacy,both China and the EU pay attention to the development of aid and education programs for Central Asian countries.China's aid focuses on infrastructure,and the EU's aid covers all levels of Central Asian countries.However,due to the dislocation of the needs of the elites and the people,China's aid has been caught in the social contradictions of Central Asian countries,and there has been a clear gap between the elite and the people.As far as education projects are concerned,China's education projects,represented by Confucius Institutes,are dedicated to Chinese language teaching and cultural dissemination,while the EU's education projects focus on the development of higher education and vocational education,and are committed to the Europeanization of the education system in Central Asia.Educational programs in China are not attractive enough.The utilitarian nature of language learning for Central Asian students and the government background of Chinese educational institutions all affect the functioning of educational programs.China's lack of civil forces such as NGOs is also one of the main reasons for restricting China's soft power diplomacy.In general,although there are certain problems in China's soft power construction in Central Asia,China is still in a period of strategic opportunity to develop soft power diplomatic relations with Central Asian countries.The research of the article enriches the academic discussion on China's soft power diplomacy in Central Asia and the EU's soft power diplomacy in Central Asia in theory,and provides further thinking for China to deepen its relations with Central Asian countries in practice.