The Era of US Soft Power Dominance Is Over: Younger People More Optimistic about China

Last November, the Mei Xiang giant panda family from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., embarked on its journey back to China, marking the return of all giant pandas from the U.S. The question of “When will Chinese pandas return to the U.S.” became a focus of attention for the U.S. public and major news outlets. The trend has worried some U.S. scholars and some in the media.

“America’s global ‘soft power’ strategy is aging poorly — especially compared to China’s.” On Jan. 13, The Hill published this column, using pandas as an excuse to exaggerate China’s so-called “soft power threat” to the U.S. through “panda diplomacy,” foreign aid, global media coverage and other initiatives.

The article pointed out that, compared to older generations, young people worldwide are more likely to have a positive view of China’s politics, technology and culture, even in Japan. In developing countries, the era when the United States had “soft power” advantages through Hollywood, pop music and fast food is long over.

Geopolitical tensions between China and the United States persist. Exaggerated by U.S. politicians, issues such as Taiwan, export controls on key technologies and relations with Russia have become obstacles to the development of relations between the two countries. But despite this, news that “the pandas might return” quickly became headline news in mainstream U.S. media including The New York Times, NPR, Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.

“Such is the power of cultural symbols,” wrote Fred P. Hochberg, author of the column and former chairman of the United States Export-Import Bank during the Obama administration.

China and the U.S. began to carry out collaborative research on giant panda conservation in 1996. The U.S. was one of the earliest countries to cooperate with China in this way and also has the highest number of groups working in giant panda collaboration. A total of four zoos have participated, establishing a good cooperative relationship and making a positive contribution to the conservation of an endangered species.

To date, China has carried out cooperative research on giant panda protection with 18 countries and 20 institutions, including the U.S., Japan and Russia. Last year, a total of 17 adult giant pandas were returned from countries such as Japan, the U.S., France, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Germany.

The giant panda is a rare species, unique to China. In international exchanges, the panda is much loved by overseas tourists and acts as an ambassador and bridge of friendship. Regarding so-called “panda diplomacy,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has previously stated that China collaborates with many countries on panda conservation research to enhance the protection of an endangered species and to promote global biodiversity protection.

However, The Hill’s article considers “panda diplomacy” a part of China’s international “soft power” diplomacy strategy. The article also mentions China’s cultural exchange initiatives such as the Confucius Institute and global media presence. It also suggests that the economies and societies of the global south have become even more tied to China because of foreign aid and the Belt and Road Initiative.

“The era when the U.S. can assume a soft power advantage from Hollywood, pop music and fast food in the developing world is long over,”* the article claims. It suggests that the U.S. government should invest more effort in future global cultural diplomacy strategies because China and the U.S. are engaged in a “war of perception” in the Global South. Most of the cultural strategies from the U.S. are holdovers from the Cold War. The current situation is not an optimistic one for the United States.

The article gives examples, noting that, unlike Europe, in middle-income countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America, people have a positive view of both China and the United States. Young people worldwide are more likely to have a positive view of China’s politics, technology and culture than older people, even in Japan. Data also show that in African nations, most people consider Chinese culture to be above average or even the best in the world. Finally, the article calls on the U.S. government to step up its cultural diplomacy efforts, reach a consensus on what constitutes “American culture” and find a way to coordinate U.S. influence beyond the traditional high-culture venues such as theater stages, museums and movie theaters.

In truth, there are long-standing concerns within the U.S. about losing the battle for influence.

In October 2022, Newsweek quoted the results of a survey from the U.K.’s University of Cambridge, which stated that China had, for the first time ever, beaten the United States in the “ideological and political struggle”* to win people’s favor in developing countries. A poll showed that people in developing countries had lost confidence in the world’s so-called “liberal democracies,” with 62% of people supporting China and 61% supporting the U.S.

Last March, the China Global Television Network Think Tank launched a global opinion poll in conjunction with Renmin University of China. Its results showed that among 3,776 respondents in 35 countries worldwide, 74.5% believed that U.S. political power is more inclined to serve the interests of a minority of rich people rather than the general public at large.

*Editor’s Note: These quotes, though accurately translated, could not be independently verified.