(25/60) Eight Ways China is Shaping the World this Month using Soft Power (Jan. ‘23)
Every month we highlight 8 Chinese global soft power actions of the past month. This month, we look at China’s African engagement via Nigeria, Xinjiang’s tourism, China nearly the top car exporter, China’s hyperloop , aviation, and plans for the moon.
Previous Reports: https://china2025.medium.com/
These reports run through China’s current 5 year plan (until 2025), and are intended to: i) Capture the acceleration of a more multipolar world. ii) Show the importance of soft power in China’s growth overseas. iii) Strengthen East-West and South-South understanding.
This is based on tertiary sources and in-country local accounts.
January 2023
1) Chinese plans for the moon: China’s CNSA Chief has announced their ambitions to land a manned lunar module (“Shenzlun”) on the moon by the end of the decade. (CNSA is equivalent to the USA’s NASA or Europe’s ESA or Russia’s Roscosmos). NASA’s Director has said that the US and China are in a space race, while, concurrently, China’s space station (continues to progress from stage 2 to 3 this month with taikonauts having recently returned after living up there for 6 months). China has recently become the first country to land on the dark side of the moon, brought certain rocks back from the moon, still has a rover on mars as we read this, and intends on building an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s with Russia as their primary partner. The galactic race of the decade will be who is the first return to the moon since 1972, yet the race of the century will be for the first person to step on Mars. To those who pay attention beyond the headlines, Soft Power also comes through the rewards of innovation — and inspiration.
2) China (nearly) the top car exporter in the world: This month, China surpassed Germany to become the second largest exporter of cars, slightly behind Japan. Of China’s 27 million cars produced, 3m are exported — with 20% being electric.
Electric Car focus: In 2030, the exports should be 5.5 m, with 2.5m being electric, while domestically, China will buy around 9m electric cars this year (up from 6.5m in 2022 and 2.5m in 2021). The US will buy 2m and Europe will buy about 3m. Another growing market is Australia which continues to have increased total annual trade with China, and now this is reaching the EV market where Australia has grown another 1% from 2021 to 2022 to having 120,000 Chinese -made vehicles. There was one day this month, when the world’s largest car company (SAIC) loaded 10,000 vehicles on a ship from Shanghai’s Haitong Port (busiest in the world for 13 straight years) for export, intended to reach 80 markets in and around Europe.
3) Another Year, another signal from China to Africa and the Global South: To start the year, like every year since 1991, Africa has been the first visit of China’s Foreign Minister overseas. The new Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, has visited Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, Egypt, the African Union Headquarters and the League of Arab States Headquarters. This is especially significant when considering how much Africa and China has evolved respectively, with China still remaining so committed to Africa and — by proxy — the Global South. China considers itself the custodian of sorts of the Global South, and this is another example of carrying that baton.
4) Nollywood (aka Nigerian Hollywood) and China’s socio-industrial steps in Nigeria. Chinese soap operas and infrastructure continue to grow in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and wealthiest country. These “C-Dramas” are growing in Ghana and Kenya as well, while China’s infrastructure contributions are growing at a similar pace. This month the Chinese-built Lekki Sea Port (75% Chinese owned) had its inauguration, building upon the increasing engagement between the two countries. China is currently building two trains lines from Lagos to Kano (through Abuja) in the North and along the coast to Calabr in the East (crossing the port). The Mambilla is also continuing with its academic relationship with thousands of Nigerians studying in China over the decades, and also in the Nigerian diaspora returning from China — many of whom should be looking to the jobs which the rail, and port projects will underpin — up to 80,000 projected.
5) Muslims in China are connecting to the world. Quick facts: China has over 25 million Muslims & there are over 70 mosques in Beijing.
This month, the chairman of the World Muslim Communities Council from the UAE visited China’s Xinjiang. The visit included 30 Islamic figures and scholars from 14 countries, in what remains an encouraging year for the growth of Xinjiang. 2022 was already the most prosperous for Xinjiang for tourism (200 million domestic tourists) and also foreign trade, and the region has not had any terrorist incidents since 2016. Perhaps not to Western travelers, however to Asian visitors Xinjiang is expected to have increase investments and tourism which will contribute to Xinjiang’s 2023 GDP growth target of 7% which is above the country’s 5% target.
6) China’s civilian aviation growth. In previous reports, we shared how COMAC’s flagship C919 had been granted approval from China’s Aviation authority as the first Chinese-built commercial passenger aircraft. Now, the market has spoken as 1,200 orders have been placed as of this month with production reaching 150 per year as the company moves from research and approvals to industrialization. A key — yet under recognized — part of soft power is the semblance of safety and trust. In the past decade China has built trust in various areas of an individual’s relationship with technology. First, predominantly through the mobile phones (Xiaomi, ZTE, Huawei, etc), and secondly through vehicles which include high speed trains, busses which dominate many European and Latin American cities, and now with electric vehicles which number 26 brands in Europe alone now. The third will be space travel, if it not already is (see first point of this month’s report), and then will come aviation with COMAC providing that entry point.
7) China enters hyperloop arena. This month, China’s CASIC successfully tested its own hyper in Datong, building upon Elon Musk’s 2012 hyperloop vision. The first test of the underground magnetic levitation transport technology succeeded at approximately 60km /h, and the goal, much like Musk’s Boring Company and Richard Branson’s Virgin, is to reach 1000 km/h. A key difference is the Chinese company’s suggestion that it could be used for cargo.
8) Increased exposure of Chinese EV cars in Europe. This month, China’s most popular EV car for the millennial market, Nio, set up a flash tent in Copenhagen’s Frederiksberg area. While Nio has put up high-profile showrooms including libraries, cafes, and lounge areas across Europe, it has taken a tip-toe approach by a simple tent and vehicle. When asked, the sales reps said they had set up 8 of these. No test drives were provided, nor presentations, nor were they even showing their top brand. He had three objectives: to raise the profile though discussions, navigate entry into the market with the govt, and to see how many people had already heard of Nio. He said that Nio was barely known, however, the growing arrival of Chinese EVs was well known (Xpeng and Polestar leading the Danish entry in EVs with Yutong and BYD leading the Copenhagen city busses). Eventually, it seems inevitable that both reputations will serve the other.
