By Dr. Manoj Jinadasa ( PhD in Digital Media Critical Cultural Studies, Newcastle, UK), Head and Senior Lecturer, Department of Mass Communication

University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

I was invited to the 2025 Global South Media Think Tank Forum, organized by the Yunnan International Communication Centre for South and Southeast Asia and the Yunnan Media Group, held in Kunming, China, from September 4th to 8th at the In Jen Kunming by Shangri-La. This article is based on the talk I prepared and delivered at the Geopolitics and International Communication Conference.

Introduction: Beyond Propaganda to Tangible Power

China's contemporary assertion of global power, positioned in direct contrast to the longstanding dominance of the West—particularly the United States—transcends mere cultural promotion or propaganda. This rise is fundamentally rooted in the solid establishment of its economic, technological, and scientific prowess across critical sectors, including education, healthcare, food security, and agriculture. Having developed advanced, avant-garde knowledge and significant political influence, understanding the mechanisms behind China's ascent is a crucial geopolitical question. This analysis explores the multifaceted strategy—encompassing hard infrastructure, digital innovation, and sophisticated public relations—that China has employed to reshape the global landscape within a single generation.

The Foundations of Power: Culture, History, and Innovation

A population's actions are intrinsically linked to its collective worldview. The Chinese writing system, for instance—a unique mode of thinking characterized by its logographic structure and traditional vertical or right-to-left orientation—symbolizes a distinct cognitive approach. While this cultural facet is fascinating, it is but one element in a much larger narrative of development.

As the world's most populous nation, China possesses a historical tradition of military discipline, a potent work ethic, and resilience. This is evidenced by its rapid military modernization, culminating in assets like the DF-21D "carrier killer" missile and the J-20 stealth fighter, which are designed to challenge Western military primacy in the Asia-Pacific region. Secondly, its robust agricultural base, fortified by technological and scientdebt-trapific innovation, has provided a more stable foundation for development than the paths taken by many other economies. Initiatives like the "agricultural going out" strategy support food security in partner nations, while domestic advancements in genomic editing and automated farming boost yields, reducing import dependence.

Thirdly, recent decades have witnessed China's progressive advancement in crucial modern fields, including communications, mechanical engineering, space exploration, and astrophysics, cementing its status as a technological leader. The "Made in China 2025" industrial policy strategically targets dominance in high-tech sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and electric vehicles (EVs). Companies like Huawei (5G), BYD (EVs), and DJI (drones) are now global market leaders, not just competitors. Furthermore, the completion of the Tiangong space station and the successful Chang'e lunar missions, which retrieved samples from the moon, signal China's arrival as a peer in the final frontier, once dominated by the US and Russia.

Strategy for Influence: Economic Integration and Soft Power

A defining feature of China's strategy is that its commercial ambitions are not limited to its domestic market; it has deeply integrated its economy with markets in the West and across the globe. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, is the quintessential example of this strategy. A vast network of infrastructure projects spanning over 150 countries, the BRI builds ports (e.g., Hambantota, Sri Lanka; Gwadar, Pakistan), railways (e.g., Jakarta-Bandung HSR, Indonesia), and energy grids, creating deep economic interdependence and expanding China's strategic influence. While praised for addressing infrastructure gaps, it has also faced criticism for debt diplomacy, wherein nations struggle to repay loans, potentially ceding strategic assets to Chinese control.

Complementing this economic outreach, China has adeptly utilized soft power, attracting global partners through a confident and often perceived humane approach. The humility and honesty frequently exhibited by the Chinese people in international engagements have generated significant goodwill, enhancing the attractiveness of Chinese products, influence, and culture. This is meticulously managed through modern public relations tools. The "China Story" is propagated globally via expanded state media outlets like CGTN and China Daily, which offer an alternative narrative to Western news agencies. Confucius Institutes, though facing scrutiny in some Western nations, promote language and cultural understanding on university campuses worldwide. The use of digital platforms like TikTok and WeChat further extends this reach, shaping global opinion, particularly among younger demographics.

This is evident in how Chinese corporations now vigorously compete in global markets, challenging established giants in the automotive industry—where BYD briefly overtook Tesla in EV sales in late 2023—and leading in sectors like communications technology, computers, and mobile electronics.

Furthermore, China has successfully drawn its neighbors in South and East Asia into its economic orbit through extensive socio-economic engagement and soft power initiatives. It demonstrates a policy of inclusion towards peripheral nations, regardless of size, actively fostering partnerships across Asia with countries such as Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Bhutan. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world's largest trade bloc led by China, creates a massive integrated market, further cementing its role as the central economic hub of Asia. Diplomatically, China has mediated talks between rivals like Iran and Saudi Arabia, showcasing its growing role as a security actor in the Middle East, a region traditionally under US influence.

Concurrently, China is expanding its strategic influence and diplomatic ties in the Middle East while assertively positioning itself vis-à-vis Western powers like the USA, the UK, and Canada. This multi-vector strategy is exemplified by its alignment with other Eastern and non-Western powers such as North Korea, Russia, African nations, and India, collectively projecting a formidable alternative to Western hegemony. The "no limits" partnership with Russia, despite the war in Ukraine, and the active lobbying of African nations through forums like FOCAC (Forum on China-Africa Cooperation) demonstrate a deliberate effort to build a coalition that can challenge the US-led international order. This is not merely economic; it is a fundamental recalibration of global alliances.

Implications and a Contrasting Worldview

A prevalent prediction suggests that this Eastern bloc, led by China, is poised to establish an unshakable pillar of influence in the face of Western power. China's global model offers inspiration to nations across the Global South—in Asia, Africa, and beyond—to re-emerge and innovate within their own cultural and economic frameworks, potentially fostering a more humanistic and multipolar global order. The China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS+ expansion are concrete institutional embodiments of this alternative order, creating parallel governance structures that exclude Western nations.

However, a potential threat persists. The dynamics of global power often mirror market forces, where larger entities can overshadow smaller ones. There is a risk that major nations, including rising powers, might inadvertently or intentionally stifle the sovereignty and unique identity of smaller peripheral countries. The aforementioned concerns about debt sustainability raised by some critics allegations surrounding the BRI, maritime disputes in the South China Sea where China has built and militarized artificial islands, and economic pressure against nations like Australia and Lithuania for perceived political slights serve as cautionary tales. They reveal a willingness to leverage economic might for political concessions, a practice not uncommon among great powers, but one that contradicts the narrative of purely benevolent rise.

Yet, the nature of China's influence presents a different dynamic compared to the historical precedent of Western pre-colonial and colonial invasions, which seriously impacted Asian, African, and Latin American societies. Eastern influence is often perceived as less immediately harmful and less likely to deliberately erode local cultures and economies. This is because it frequently operates in parallel with, rather than in place of, a nation's own developmental ambitions in agriculture and political governance. The Chinese model, often called the "Beijing Consensus," offers an alternative to the "Washington Consensus." It emphasizes infrastructure-led development, state-led capitalism, and non-interference in the domestic affairs of partner nations, a principle highly attractive to leaders in the Global South who are wary of Western demands for political reform, transparency, and human rights as conditions for aid and investment.

Rooted in more compatible cultural and humanistic values, Eastern collaboration offers a stark contrast to the historical impact of Western Global North powers, whose social and cultural values often differed sharply from those of the regions they influenced. This shared emphasis on community, stability, and sovereignty over individual liberty and democratic governance creates a perceived cultural affinity between China and many developing nations.

These two global spheres have maintained distinct cultural and economic trajectories from their origins to the present. This fundamental divergence explains why Eastern powers find common cause, while integration with Western models has proven difficult. This division endures even in the post-WWII era, despite the creation of international institutions like the World Bank, UN, International Monetary Fund, and Asian Development Bank. Critics argue these institutions have often failed to genuinely empower peripheral nations, instead perpetuating a system where Western power continues to exert a form of neo-imperial influence that negatively impacts the economic resilience, cultural integrity, and political sovereignty of the Global South. China’s creation of parallel institutions—the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank—explicitly challenges this old order by offering developing nations alternative sources of capital with, they claim, fewer strings attached. The great game for the 21st century is not just about military might; it is a battle of systems, narratives, and institutions, and China is now a full-spectrum competitor playing all fronts simultaneously. (Image Credit: Photo taken by Manoj Jinadasa on 7th September at Stone Forest, Kunming, China.)