ICA Post-Conference
A decade of China’s media going global:
issues and perspectives
Call for Abstracts
The year 2012 stands as a significant milestone in China’s government-led external communication activities. It was in early 2012 that Beijing launched television broadcasting and production centers in Washington, DC, USA (CCTV America, now CGTN America) and Nairobi, Kenya (CGTN Africa). Later in the year, it began publishing an African weekly edition of the English-language newspaper China Daily -- European and Asian weekly editions launched in 2010. Set in motion under the leadership of President Hu Jintao, China’s global media expansion, part of a larger “going out” policy for the economy in general, sought to improve the country’s image overseas, and to give Beijing a larger say in global information flows.
Ten years on, Chinese media’s global engagement has not only grown, but diversified. Today, Chinese media companies are engaged in content production and distribution, direct investment in foreign media ventures, infrastructure development, training and media development efforts, and “managing” public opinion overseas. The growth and diversification of communication strategies can be partly explained by the fact that the global political and economic context under which Hu Jintao set out to improve China’s international image through external media expansion has changed. The rise (and fall) of Donald Trump in the United States, the use of social media for public diplomacy by “Wolf Warriors” in Xi Jinping’s China, and the debates about the coronavirus pandemic have encouraged a proliferation of polarised narratives. This is reflected in the global communicative strategies of the Chinese government.
Over the last decade, academics, diplomats and commentators have struggled to identify the most suitable constructs to understand China’s re-engagement with the global media system, and Beijing’s presumed aim of influencing global public opinion through the media. Debates around nomenclature have seen the rise (and, for some, fall) of concepts such as soft power, smart power, sharp power and discursive power. Academic fields as diverse as global communication, international relations, public diplomacy and strategic communications have all contributed to these debates, but more often than not, with limited dialogue between them.
After ten years of China’s “going out” strategy in the media sector, this post-conference asks: how should we think about and conceptualize China’s external communication in the 2020s? Are China’s external/global media still fulfilling the role envisaged for them a decade ago, and - if not - what are they now for? Do Chinese media present the threat to media freedom that many have envisioned, especially in countries where democratic institutions are fragile? What is the state of scholarly understanding of Chinese global media, and what key nerw strands of research and theory have emerged?
This post-conference invites submissions (500 word abstracts) that address any of the following topics/issues (additional areas may also be considered):
Reflecting on the current state and future direction of research on China’s external communications
(e.g. What are the shortcomings of current studies on China’s global communications? What should a future research agenda for the study of China’s external communication look like? Are concepts such as soft, smart, sharp or discursive power useful constructs to understand China’s external communication?)Contextualizing and historicizing China’s external communication
(e.g. How have Chinese understandings of South-South communications changed over time? How do stakeholders in different world regions (from Africa to the Americas, Europe, South East Asia and beyond) conceptualize China’s global media efforts? How have Chinese media strategies evolved over the last decade in developed and developing nations?)Comparing China’s media strategies to those of other global powers
(e.g. Has there been an “RT-ization” of Chinese international broadcasting? How have long-established global media actors such as VOA and BBC responded, if at all, to Chinese global information flows? Are there differences in how China communicates with foreign audiences across languages?)Reflecting on the current state and future direction of research on China’s external communications
(e.g. What are the shortcomings of current studies on China’s global communications? What should a future research agenda for the study of China’s external communication look like? Are concepts such as soft, smart, sharp or discursive power useful constructs to understand China’s external communication?)Conference Program
All times are shown in local Paris time. You can download a copy of the full program, including the title of accepted papers and the names of authors, from here.
In line with recommendations by ICA, wearing a mask will be required for all in person participants, except when eating or presenting.
Publication Plans
A selection of papers accepted to the post-conference will be published in a Special Issue of the International Communication Gazette in February 2023.
Key dates
Abstract submission: February 15, 2022
Notification of accepted abstracts: March 1, 2022
Submission of full papers for Special Issue: June 15, 2022
Last day to Register: May 31, 2022
Conference Fees
Registration for conference attendees (virtual or in person) who are not presenting a paper is open until May 31, 2022. You can register for the event at https://www.icahdq.org/event/ICA22POST-China. Details on how to join the conference virtually will be provided by email to registered participants a few days before the conference.