China's Soft Power Diplomacy in South Asia: Myth or Reality?

China's Soft Power Diplomacy: Myth or Reality? examines the Chinese version of soft power both in conceptual and operational terms, and explores its myriad implications for India, in particular, and South Asia in general. The book investigates how the institutionalization of cultural soft power would help China project its image as a benign and responsible stakeholder in order to reshape the current international system with its notion of “harmonious world order,” based on Chinese characteristics. This book traces the origin of China’s engagement with South Asian states from historical, political, economic, and security perspectives in order to better understand the dynamics of its South Asia policy. It illuminates the core reasons to explain why China’s soft power initiatives in South Asia are least appealing and convincing to India while they are welcomed by smaller nations of the region. More pertinently, the book addresses complexities and nuances of China’s soft power instruments given the psycho-cultural and geopsychological peculiarities of the South Asian region. For this, it focuses on how the Sino-Pakistan axis constitutes a potential challenge to India’s leadership role and influence in South Asia.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 China’s Soft Power Diplomacy: Theoretical Discourse and Application to South Asia Chapter 2 China-India Relations: Sources of Conflict and Cooperation Chapter 3 China-Pakistan Relations: Closeness without Commonality Chapter 4 China and the Himalayan States: Forging a New Strategic Understanding Chapter 5 China and the Island States of the Indian Ocean: Geostrategic Imperatives Chapter 6 China-Bangladesh Relations: From Strangers to Intimate Friends

About the Author :
B. M. Jain is former visiting professor in the Department of Political Science at Cleveland State University and is editor-in-chief of the Indian Journal of Asian Affairs.

Review :
. . . . this is a very strong book, whose hedging is really an attempt to grasp the nuance of China’s soft power activities. Besides being extremely valuable simply for chronicling China’s bilateral relations with South Asian countries, the book adds greatly to the Chinese soft power literature by bringing into focus a region that will likely play an important role in China’s foreign policy for a long time to come. In short, this work is a beneficial and accessible addition to the growing debate not only regarding China’s more confident cross-regional diplomacy in South Asia but also in contributing to the issue of whether soft power is playing a role in Beijing’s interests there. The book draws on many regional and as well as international sources to make its case, and those interested in both Chinese and South Asian foreign policy and strategy will find this book a necessary read given current events and ongoing questions about where the Xi government is heading in the increasingly pivotal Indian Ocean region. Prof. B. M. Jain offers us a compelling framework to contextualize China’s latest diplomatic efforts to engage neighboring South Asian nations. Surveying the Chinese geopolitical, sociocultural and economic involvement across South Asia, he argues convincingly that strategic encounter between China and India is bound to make a decisive impact on the fast-changing landscape of regional security. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the complexities of Sino-Indian relations. The first of its kind, this illustrative book closely examines China's major diplomatic activities in South Asian countries as part of its global strategy. Professor Jain offers a concise, critical and cogent analysis of China's efforts to project soft power globally. A must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Chinese foreign policy. This novel analysis shows how the politics of soft power is deeply entwined with hard power considerations. China’s influence, particularly over the smaller nations of South Asia, is inseparable from its economic clout. More fundamentally, Jain demonstrates, the values underlying China’s strategic culture are incompatible with the notion of soft power as a positive facet of national power. As a result, China’s ‘soft power’ appeal remains limited for the region’s small states and even more so for India.