'Sharp power': West gets it wrong

A new report, "Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence", published by the US International Forum for Democratic Studies has drawn global attention. Using sharp power, "which is not hard in the openly coercive sense, but not really soft either", the report says, "China and Russia have invested significant resources in media, academic, cultural, and think tank initiatives designed to shape public opinion and perceptions around the world."

It is true that as the world's second-largest economy and the largest developing country, China has become a prominent presence in the global media. In contrast to other developing countries such as India, it follows a self-selected and self-designed path of development, or "the Chinese way", and does not adhere to the well-trodden path of development communication charted by Western scholars. Development communication refers to the use of communication to promote social development.

As a Western saying goes, there are three ways of doing things in the world, the right way, the wrong way, and the Chinese way. In the past, the developed West used to set the criteria for defining right and wrong. Now, as China's discourse power has increased with its national strength, the Chinese way can be described as a creative and unique way, thanks to the Chinese leaders upholding and promoting socialism with Chinese characteristics.