The Dragon's Silver Tongue: Chinese Soft Power in the Age of Xi Jinping

Since China’s dramatic opening to the world in 1979, its officials have taken a keen interest in soft power, enshrining the concept in party strategy documents and foreign policy. Throughout the Reform Era, Chinese soft power has typically taken the form of benign cultural outreach, an approach favored by the grey-man President Hu Jintao. But Xi Jinping is no Hu Jintao.

Xi Jinping’s presidency has fundamentally shaken many of the foundations upon which contemporary China was built. Not since Mao has the nation witnessed such a forceful personality at its helm. He has redefined the Party, the Chinese nation, and their approach to the outside world, challenging the ambivalence of his predecessors and charting a decisive new course for modern China in the international community.

Given these bold changes, it should come as no surprise that soft power implications for Chinese diplomacy abound. At a time when China’s influence on the world is ever expanding and public opinion on China is shifting, understanding Chinese soft power has never been more essential than it is today. Emboldened by the rise in Chinese comprehensive national power and the world’s growing dependence on Chinese manufacturing, Xi proclaims to abide by the established rhetoric of a peaceful China, but increasingly takes a more assertive stance in resolving international issues.

In The Dragon’s Silver Tongue, Taylor D. Beith provides an incisive look at the drastic changes to Chinese soft power policy underway in President Xi Jinping’s China today. China’s unique view of soft power itself, the Confucius Institute Project, Cross-Strait relations, China’s relationship with the Global South, and the Chinese Western Interior. The Dragon's Silver Tongue masterfully weaves such considerations into a sweeping narrative to define the trajectory of the 21st century.