China’s $10bn annual spending on soft power has bought little of it
Global approval ratings for the Communist Party have fallen in the last decade
CHINA WANTS the world to love it. In 2007 Hu Jintao, its leader at the time, announced to a congress of the Communist Party that acquiring soft power, or ruan shili, was essential for the country to become a global force. Xi Jinping, who succeeded Mr Hu in 2012, has zealously continued his mission to expand China’s cultural appeal as quickly as its economic heft and military strength. Today the party spends about $10bn a year on soft power.
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