Map of the Belt and Road Initiative. China in red, transport corridors in blue and black and in orange, members of the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank). Credit, WIKIPEDIA, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.
As China expands and advances its interests as a global power, it is important to understand how it projects its ambitions in other countries. Chinese diplomacy took a key turn in 2013 when it announced its One Belt, One Road strategy, or “一带一路”. Now commonly known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the strategy was enshrined in the country’s constitution in 2017, becoming, in the view of many commentators, the keystone of Chinese foreign policy.
Now active in dozens of countries, the Belt and Road Initiative focuses on infrastructure development, but also includes a significant soft power component. China has made no secret of its intent to shape global information environments for its own benefit. It has invested in massive surveillance and censorship at home, international broadcasting, foreign media, online/mobile platforms, state-supported marketing, and a global expansion of its communications technology companies. It has also provided support for other countries to adopt its approach to a “sovereign internet” using a mix of regulatory influence, technology transfer, and aggressive policy promotion in key multilateral international forums.
While the Belt and Road Initiative plays out across all continents, local societies and communities hold differing perceptions of its benefits and potential harms, despite China’s extensive public relations and propaganda effort to promote its aims.
Our investigation looks at the intersection of Chinese technology transfer, soft power, communications technology buildout, and public information. Working with local researchers and writers in a dozen countries, we explore the ways China advances narratives that bolster its drive for global power, and how local perspectives either support or counter China’s ambitions.
Over the next few months, we’ll be adding stories and details about the project to this page.
Visit the Civic Media Observatory main page.
Read the stories
Stories about China’s Belt & Road Initiative: Deal or steal?
What a Kyrgyzstan oil refinery reveals about China's Belt and Road Initiative
"We tried to reach the mayor, arguing that the plant is harmful to the environment...We tried our best but nobody was listening to us."
Belt and Road Initiative projects ramp up Nigeria’s favourable perception of China
The BRI initiative enjoys a favourable perception because Nigeria has an infrastructure deficit that China is correcting. This programme will endure for some time in Nigeria.
Indigenous people denounce Chinese oil giant's extractions in Peru's Amazon Forest
A coalition of non-governmental and indigenous organizations came together to hold their government and companies accountable
How the lack of Brazilian correspondents in China affects perceptions of both countries
Journalists Marcelo Ninio and Talita Fernandes discuss Brazilian perspectives on China.
Why Huawei was almost excluded from the 5G race in Brazil
Despite its two-decade history in Brazil, the Chinese tech giant's chance to compete for 5G development contracts was at one point vehemently opposed by the Bolsonaro government.
Greeks wage a court battle against Chinese-funded port that may poison the environment
Expansion of the Piraeus port will create a "subaquatic toxic landfill” at the expense of the area’s fragile ecosystems.
As Brazil increases exports to China, politicians play the blame game
"The problem is Brazil's current development model that turns it into a large farm," said Evandro Menezes de Carvalho, a specialist in Chinese law and international trade.
Is Bolsonaro's anti-China rhetoric fueling anti-Asian hate in Brazil?
Global Voices talked to five people of Chinese descent in Brazil. All said intolerance increased with the COVID-19 pandemic.
How COVID-19 ramped up a simmering hostility between Brazil and China
While governments around the world scrambled to secure vials of the COVID-19 vaccine, Bolsonaro refused to negotiate with drug companies, especially the Chinese ones.
New Chinese-led port project faces backlash from local residents and environmentalists in Peru
“Throughout the history of Peru, investments are located wherever they want, as long as they bring money, and the state or government allows this to happen”
COVID-19 vaccine in Africa: Caught between China’s soft-power diplomacy and the West’s vaccine nationalism, Part II
Is it not hypocritical to heckle China for their soft-power vaccine diplomacy in Africa while Western governments conveniently pursue vaccine nationalism?
COVID-19 vaccine in Africa: Caught between China’s soft-power diplomacy and the West’s vaccine nationalism, Part I
The storage of Chinese Sinovac’s CoronaVac and Sinopharm are more suited for Africa’s hot temperatures, unlike those produced in the West, which require deep-freezer temps.
