Are We Misreading Confucius Institutes and China's Soft Power?

Are We Misreading Confucius Institutes and China’s Soft Power?

🌏 In this episode, Jinghan Zeng, a professor at the City University of Hong Kong is interviewed by Prof. Maria Adele Carrai. Prof. Zeng draws on his experience as former Director of the Confucius Institute in Lancaster to offer a more complex and layered perspective on how these institutes operate, moving beyond the simplistic view of them as mere tools of soft power.

In this interview, he reflects on China’s global influence, cultural diplomacy, that shape China’s international engagement.

 

What you’ll learn in this interview:

How perceptions of China are shaped and the role of constructivism in international relations

Why soft power alone cannot fully explain Confucius Institutes, and the need for alternative analytical lenses

How Confucius Institutes actually operate in practice

The former role of Hanban and the reasons behind its institutional restructuring

The future trajectory of China’s cultural diplomacy

 

📖 In this conversation, Prof. Zeng also discusses his newly released book Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director, offering deeper and more nuanced insights into these topics. You can purchase the book here: https://lnkd.in/enzeD7SV — use code PALAUT for 20% off.

Time Codes: 

00:00 Introduction

00:33 Meet Prof. Zheng

01:24 Personal journey & perspectives on China

05:00 Chinese soft power & Confucius Institutes

09:19 Director experience at Lancaster

15:08 Academic freedom & conflicts of interest

23:01 Why Hanban was dissolved

34:08 Daily activities of Confucius Institutes

40:01 Future of Chinese cultural diplomacy

47:18 Private soft power & Chinese companies

51:15 Conclusion & Prof. Zheng’s book