Opinion | China should rethink how Confucius Institutes operate or risk undermining soft power efforts

The institutes are clearly bearing the fallout from fractured US-China ties, but more could be done to alleviate West’s concerns of academic interference

They should take heart at their success educating more than 9 million students worldwide and consider reforming their approach

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Students write Chinese calligraphy at the Confucius Institute in Brussels, Belgium, in this 2017 file photo. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00am, 21 Aug 2020Updated: 8:00am, 21 Aug 2020

When China first set up its overseas Confucius Institutes, its aim was to promote Chinese language and culture, and expand its international influence – or at the very least project a more favourable, if not positive, image of China.

It achieved some measure of success with the former but has failed abysmally with the latter given the United States ruling last week that these institutes are “foreign agents” and guilty of “advancing China’s global propaganda”.

The institutes are clearly bearing the fallout from fractured US-China ties but they are not blameless. There are 541 such institutes in 162 countries – as well as 1,193 Confucius classrooms in primary and secondary schools worldwide – and they have been caught up in controversies including being accused of recruiting for Chinese intelligence and conducting espionage.

In 2011 a Confucius Institute teacher from China sent to teach in Canada could not continue doing so because of her affiliation with Falun Gong, the spiritual sect banned by Beijing. There were also several instances where institutes have pressured universities – likely at the behest of Chinese diplomats and bureaucrats – to disinvite the Dalai Lama or remove conference materials listing Taiwan as a country.

Students take part in games organised by the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Photo: Xinhua

Other language institutes such as the British Council, Alliance Francaise, Goethe Institutes, South Korea’s cultural centres and the Japan Foundation also receive government funding but do not face similar accusations of “malign influence”.

The pace at which Confucius Institutes have been set up has also caused alarm. It took the British Council more than eight decades to acquire the offices it has in 229 towns and cities in 110 countries and territories worldwide. China, by contrast, built its bigger network of institutes and classrooms in a little more than 15 years – mainly by joining with local host institutions which are also required to contribute financially and provide physical premises and facilities.

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