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China Plays Hardball with Soft Power

Out with strongman Mao and in with svelte-suited diplomats and film personalities: Chinese leaders have learned the value of a warm smile and firm handshake
By Jehangir Pocha

Pirated translations of Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and Influence People are available on most Chinese street corners, and it would appear Chinese Communist Party officials have picked up a few copies. Maoist China used to assert itself on the world stage by exporting revolution, waging wars, funding insurgents and broadcasting subversive propaganda across Asia. But today’s Chinese leaders have learned the value of a warm smile and firm handshake. Since “We couldn’t beat ‘em, let’s charm ‘em” appears to be Beijing’s new dictum, China’s new global ambassadors are not chiseled-faced “Red Guards” in fatigues, but svelte-suited diplomats, film personalities such as Wong Kar Wai and the amply bosomed Gong Li, designers such as Vivienne Tam, intellectuals such as Ha Jin, and billionaire businessmen.

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