Wang Min: "The Belt and Road" Restructures International Communication Power
Since the Second World War, due to the differential distribution of geopolitical influence, economic strength, and cultural hegemony, the international communication order has long been dominated by developed Western countries. Developing countries have faced the predicament of economic dependence and cultural colonization; the lack of international discourse power has greatly restricted their development. Within the context of building a community with a shared future for humanity, reconstructing the international communication order is both necessary and just.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an unprecedented infrastructure project and a major domestic and international economic strategy for China to actively respond to changes in the international situation. It brings new opportunities for China to reconstruct its communication power and pursue international discourse power, while also serving as a new entry point for changing the international communication order and seeking peaceful development.
Economic Foundation: Enhancing the Tangibility of International Communication Levers
For a long time, China’s international communication has faced the predicament of “having the truth but being unable to tell it; and when it is told, being unable to spread it” [1]. This is not only because Western countries, led by the United States, use their media hegemony to control the communication agenda, but also because China itself has fallen into a discursive trap where “the West speaks and comments, while China follows and explains.” Moreover, China has at times found itself talking to itself within an insurmountable ideological opposition. The BRI brings new opportunities for China to break through this predicament.
On one hand, the BRI reshapes urban structures and promotes urban transformation by combining large-scale infrastructure construction with industrial and environmental investments. Numerous related cities have established new links through tourism and trade, directly impacting the original relations of economic dependence. New relational connections bring about a new development pattern where the collective advantages of "extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits" [2] become prominent. This compels the US-led Western countries to shift from being mere onlookers to competitors, thereby increasing the visibility of economic issues and enhancing the autonomy of developing countries in international communication.
On the other hand, with the continuous advancement of the BRI, China and its partners have implemented deeper policy innovations to continuously improve transparency, expand the scope of trade, improve debt sustainability, and mitigate environmental risks. These efforts have continuously improved trade, foreign investment, and living conditions in participating countries, allowing benefits to be shared broadly and reducing global poverty. All of these provide tangible levers for China’s international communication and make the "power expansion" reporting framework long used by the US and Western countries unsustainable.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that since the implementation of the BRI, China’s total import and export volume with co-building countries has increased significantly. This indicates that the BRI is not only a booster for China’s economic growth but also a new engine for global economic growth. It reflects the “Chinese responsibility” [3] for improving global governance and provides an intuitive and tangible reality-based lever for China’s international communication.
Cultural Pathfinding: Broadening the Foundation of International Communication
People-to-people exchanges are the core essence of the Silk Road spirit. Since ancient times, connectivity has been a pursuit of human society and the fundamental prerequisite for achieving linked development. The deepening of cultural exchanges requires the establishment of smooth channels and platforms between countries and regions with diverse cultures.
In 2016, the State Council issued the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization, proposing the Digital Silk Road construction priority action for the first time. China and BRI partner countries have worked to narrow the digital divide between different countries, regions, and populations by strengthening network interconnection, thereby releasing data dividends. This provides an autonomous platform for exchange and mutual learning between different entities while upholding the information sovereignty of co-building countries. On this basis, international exchange has shifted from a government-led model to a new situation involving multiple subjects, including governments, media, enterprises, social organizations, and private individuals, thereby expanding the foundation of international communication.
The BRI has constructed a new platform for the integrated development of cultural exchange in the era of globalization. Partners use this platform for interconnection to promote cultural exchange, mutual learning, innovation, and development at higher levels and on a larger scale. In 2017, Kong Xiaoxi and Hakim, the first animated series co-produced by China and Saudi Arabia, appeared on Saudi television, achieving a breakthrough for Chinese animation in Saudi Arabia. Chinese culture entered the lives of ordinary Saudi citizens, allowing more people to understand both traditional and modern China. The goal of cultural exchange is "people-to-people connectivity" [4]. This connectivity is the social and humanistic foundation of the BRI; it is the most fundamental, solid, and lasting form of interconnection. For over a decade, the construction of platforms such as art festivals, expos, trade fairs, forums, and public information services themed around the BRI has gradually become standardized and normalized. The brand effect of BRI cultural activities has steadily strengthened, allowing co-building countries to share in feasts of culture and art through a series of internationally influential cultural events.
The deepening of cultural exchange has brought about a new landscape in international communication: the world consists not only of the "East" and the "West," but of many countries with diverse cultures and varied development paths. The BRI takes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity as its value orientation. It advocates for achieving complementary advantages and win-win results under the fundamental guidance of openness, inclusiveness, and common development, which can inspire and lead the people of co-building countries to participate together. Cultural exchange and civilization dialogue emphasize "seeking common ground while shelving differences" [5] and inclusiveness; they are effective ways to eliminate misunderstandings, enhance mutual trust, and resolve disputes. This vision of civilization, which emphasizes mutual learning through dialogue, incorporates every country into the international communication system as an equal subject; the subject telling the story is gradually shifting from "China" to "the world." When the goals of multiple subjects are unified, the prerequisite for people-to-people connectivity is met. Thus, telling China’s story is no longer China talking to itself, but a collective voice of multiple subjects based on mutual benefit. This is an effective discursive practice to break through Western public opinion attacks.
Media Synergy: Ensuring More Lasting Results in International Communication
The BRI requires large-scale information dissemination, which provides opportunities for Chinese media to enhance their international communication power. Taking various projects as opportunities, media from China and co-building countries can strengthen communication and cooperation to form media synergy. This helps break through the media hegemony of Western countries and allows them to project their own voices. Simultaneously, Chinese media can utilize the opportunities of the BRI to increase the quantity of international news, improve reporting quality, and enhance international visibility and influence. To better communicate with global audiences, Chinese media must increase multi-language reporting—particularly in English, Arabic, Russian, and other major languages of BRI countries—to expand information coverage.
The BRI has enriched international communication with new content. Internationalized or global issues have gradually become the mainstream trend, and the enrichment of such topics helps enhance the international influence of the media. For example, since the proposal of the "Green Belt and Road," related topics have gained recognition from co-building countries. Issues such as green and low-carbon investment concepts, improvement of ecological environmental quality, synergy in addressing climate change, and the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development have gradually become new topics for the BRI and core topics for building a community with a shared future for humanity. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), stated that there is a "vicious cycle" between poverty, violent conflict, and climate change; the BRI has improved infrastructure in many countries and regions, mitigated the impact of climate change, and contributed to the global humanitarian cause. The abundant spiritual and factual materials provided by the BRI place new demands on the construction of China's international communication system, which in turn prompts Chinese media to continuously improve their international communication power.
Overall, the BRI provides an important platform and opportunity for the rise of Chinese media power, helping to elevate China’s status in the international media field, promoting the internationalization of Chinese media, and laying a solid foundation for China to play a greater role in international affairs.
Since the BRI was proposed, China has actively set the global agenda, attracting worldwide attention. The BRI has opened a new way of interpreting the world through a Chinese framework, enhancing the discourse power of Chinese content on the global stage. BRI construction not only providing new opportunities for China to break through its international communication difficulties but also increases the international visibility of co-building countries. In this process, developing countries are no longer a vague group in international discourse, but specific, vivid economic and cultural entities. For more than ten years, China and BRI partner countries have been committed to ensuring that exchanges between civilizations transcend alienation, mutual learning transcends conflict, and coexistence transcends feelings of superiority. Practice has shown that the BRI is an international communication practice under the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity. It reflects both the "hard power" of the state, such as economy and technology, and "soft power," such as culture and discourse power. Using the economy as a foundation, culture as a pathfinder, and media as a force-multiplier constitutes a vital opportunity for China to continuously enhance its international communication power and open up its international communication landscape within the BRI.
(The author is a researcher at the Center for Chinese National Cultural Communication, Minzu University of China) Source: Guangming Daily January 24, 2025