The Cultural Diplomacy Between China and Indochina： An Analysis on the Varied Responses

For the promotion of BRI in recent years, China has attached much importance to strengthening people-to-people ties through cultural diplomacy, and cultural diplomatic activities between China and Indochina have experienced remarkable development. However, there is also difference in the responses from the Indochinese countries. The diplomatic nature of cultural diplomacy makes it difficult to avoid the competition between states for power and interest. And the varied responses stem from the two-dimensional shaping by the following factors: the geo-setting of the countries affects their attitude towards the diffusion of Chinese culture, and the cultural influence of each country determines the pattern of cultural mobility between them and China. In future, China needs to pay more attention to the heterogeneity of countries and the bidirectional mobility of culture in promoting the cultural diplomacy with Indochina. It is also necessary to accelerate the development of regional cooperative mechanisms, in the aim of building a cultural community.

Speaker

YI YuanAssistant Professor at School of International Relations/ Research School for Southeast Asian Studies, Xiamen University