From “foreign propaganda” to “international communication”: China’s promotion of soft power in the age of information and communication technologies

China’s rise in economic power has been accompanied by a shift in its “foreign propaganda” from the defensive to the offensive. This shift is greatly facilitated by the technological conditions created by the rapid growth of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in China, both quantitatively and qualitatively. From the individualized computer to the more mass directed satellite television, ICTs have brought China a new form of publicizing itself to the world.