Calm down, America. China doesn’t have any real influence on Americans, or soft power sway

Liu Xiaobiao says US media and culture have a stronger influence on the Chinese public than vice versa, despite claims to the contrary. A former US president was widely mourned in China recently, but could you imagine the opposite scenario?

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Illustration: Timothy Mcevenue. See: www.timothymcevenue.net

Published: 1:00am, 29 Dec 2018Updated: 8:59am, 31 Dec 2018

It may be a hot topic right now, but talk of Chinese influence in the United States is seriously exaggerated.

Michael Pillsbury, director for Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute and praised by President Donald Trump as “the leading authority on China”, claimed in June that China’s influence in the US is about 10 times that of the US’ in China. He said that the influence levels are worryingly out of balance.

Last month, dozens of moderate scholars who had long advocated engaging with China issued similar warnings in a report from the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the Centre on US-China Relations at the Asia Society. The report also recommended countermeasures against China.

Most certainly, these politicians and scholars have greatly exaggerated China’s influence in the US. For example, some Chinese official media networks may operate in the US with strong funding and numerous staff, but how many Americans actually watch the Chinese networks? Do American politicians and scholars read Chinese articles and watch Chinese shows? Has the Chinese media made these politicians and scholars more understanding and supportive of China?

In fact, the Chinese media churns out stereotypical content that is boring even to a Chinese audience, so how could it be attractive to Americans? On the other hand, although some major American media outlets are banned in China, millions of Chinese still access their content via VPN. As a result, American content is often reposted to Chinese social media soon after it is published.