Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
#ChinaAfrica #Development #SoftPower
With a growing young population, vast natural resources, and emerging technology hubs, countries across Africa have become key sites for diplomatic competition between the United States and China. Focusing on Ethiopia, Maria Repnikova examines the ambitious and disjointed display of Chinese diplomatic influence in Africa, developing a new theoretical approach to understanding China's practice of soft power, identifying the core mechanisms as tangible enticement with material and experiential offerings, promotion of values, visions, and governance practices, and censorial power over the production and dissemination of China narratives. Through in-depth field work, Dr. Repnikova builds a picture of the uneven implementation and reception of this image-making, in which Chinese messengers can improvise official agendas, and Ethiopian recipients can strategically appropriate and negotiate Chinese power. Contrary to popular claims about China replacing the West in the Global South, her study reveals the successes, inconsistencies, and limitations of Chinese influence, as well as the ever-present shadow of the West in mediating soft-power encounters.
In an interview conducted on July 26, 2026, Maria Repnikova joins Xiaoyu Pu to discuss China’s soft power in Africa.
About the program: ncuscr.org/event/competing-for-soft-power-chinas-image-making-in-africa
0:00 – Teaser: Key Findings
00:42 – Introduction
2:42 – The Book's Origins: From Domestic Media Politics to "Global China"
4:21 – Challenging Dominant Narratives on China's Power in the Global South
7:21 – Why Ethiopia? Explaining the Case Selection
10:22 – Mechanism 1: Tangible Enticement -- Rethinking Soft Power
15:12 – Mechanism 2: Ideational Promotion and Elite Trainings
21:43 – Legitimizing China's Political System
22:59 – Mechanism 3: Silencing and Censorship
25:30 – African Agency: Pushing Back and Renegotiating
29:18 – Is the West Really Declining?
32:43 – The Competition for Soft Power Continues
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NCUSCR fosters U.S.-China communication and exchange in support of productive bilateral relations and U.S. interests. Learn more: ncuscr.org/about.
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► Support our mission to promote understanding and cooperation between the United States and China: secure.givelively.org/donate/ncuscr/promote-engagement
#ChinaAfrica #Development #SoftPower
With a growing young population, vast natural resources, and emerging technology hubs, countries across Africa have become key sites for diplomatic competition between the United States and China. Focusing on Ethiopia, Maria Repnikova examines the ambitious and disjointed display of Chinese diplomatic influence in Africa, developing a new theoretical approach to understanding China's practice of soft power, identifying the core mechanisms as tangible enticement with material and experiential offerings, promotion of values, visions, and governance practices, and censorial power over the production and dissemination of China narratives. Through in-depth field work, Dr. Repnikova builds a picture of the uneven implementation and reception of this image-making, in which Chinese messengers can improvise official agendas, and Ethiopian recipients can strategically appropriate and negotiate Chinese power. Contrary to popular claims about China replacing the West in the Global South, her study reveals the successes, inconsistencies, and limitations of Chinese influence, as well as the ever-present shadow of the West in mediating soft-power encounters.
In an interview conducted on July 26, 2026, Maria Repnikova joins Xiaoyu Pu to discuss China’s soft power in Africa.
About the program: ncuscr.org/event/competing-for-soft-power-chinas-image-making-in-africa
0:00 – Teaser: Key Findings
00:42 – Introduction
2:42 – The Book's Origins: From Domestic Media Politics to "Global China"
4:21 – Challenging Dominant Narratives on China's Power in the Global South
7:21 – Why Ethiopia? Explaining the Case Selection
10:22 – Mechanism 1: Tangible Enticement -- Rethinking Soft Power
15:12 – Mechanism 2: Ideational Promotion and Elite Trainings
21:43 – Legitimizing China's Political System
22:59 – Mechanism 3: Silencing and Censorship
25:30 – African Agency: Pushing Back and Renegotiating
29:18 – Is the West Really Declining?
32:43 – The Competition for Soft Power Continues
_____________________________________________
NCUSCR fosters U.S.-China communication and exchange in support of productive bilateral relations and U.S. interests. Learn more: ncuscr.org/about.
► Subscribe to our channel: ncuscr.video/subscribe-youtube
► Check out the rest of our videos and podcasts here: ncuscr.org/media
► Follow @NCUSCR on Twitter: twitter.com/ncuscr
► Facebook: facebook.com/NCUSCR
► Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/ncuscr
► Instagram: instagram.com/ncuscr
► TikTok: tiktok.com/@ncuscr1966
► Weibo: weibo.com/ncuscr
► Visit our website for the latest information on our upcoming events, programs, digital content, and more: ncuscr.org
► Support our mission to promote understanding and cooperation between the United States and China: secure.givelively.org/donate/ncuscr/promote-engagement
