Chinese as an instrument of cultural diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

This scientific article is devoted to the role of the Chinese language in the cultural diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China. The relevance of the research topic is due to: first, the growth of the influence of the People’s Republic of China on the international arena; secondly, the acceleration of the process of transformation of the international situation, consisting in «power transition» from the USA to China; third, strengthening relations between the PRC and the countries of the collective "non-West". The object of this study is the cultural diplomacy of the PRC. The study focuses on the Chinese language as an instrument of Chinese cultural diplomacy. The aim of the study is to determine the role of the Chinese language in the cultural diplomacy of China. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: to study the process of implementing the cultural diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China in the context of «power transition», to define the role of the Chinese language in the cultural diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China in the context of «One Belt One Road». This study is based on the theory of neoliberalism, which implies the primacy of international political, economic and cultural cooperation as a factor restraining potential hostilities. The main conclusions of the study are the characteristic of cultural diplomacy as an integral part of inter-state relations, identification of the key tools for the implementation of Chinese cultural diplomacy at the present stage in the form of a symbiosis of the initiative «One Belt One Road» and the activities of the Confucius Institutes, characterization of the PRC as the key and only rival of the United States of America on the international arena in the context of the theory of «power transition».