ABSTRACT
Ever since Joseph Nye (1990, 2004) proposed and popularised the concept of ‘soft power’, a growing number of studies have been undertaken to discuss China’s overall efforts in pursuing public diplomacy, especially in the most recent decade (Ramo, 2004, 2007; Wang, 2008; Ding, 2011; Zhang, 2012). However, little has been written on how such efforts have been reflected in China’s actual conduct in cultivating sector/country-specific links, or friendship, with other countries, the bread and butter of the country’s international relations. This chapter is a modest attempt to bridge the gap by highlighting China’s efforts and challenges in developing partnerships with media organisations in Australia, thus providing a microcosmic view of one aspect of China’s public diplomacy in action. In doing so, this chapter taps into international relations literature for insights on the concomitant pitfalls of rising powers in order to explore the underlying reasons for China’s difficulties in conducting public diplomacy and to offer alternative solutions for overcoming these difficulties.
