ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on public diplomacy on the part of media and communications, rather than the international relations perspective. It investigates the way in which Chinese public diplomacy has been studied from a media and communications perspective, with a particular emphasis on how Africans respond to the phenomenon of Africans in China. The chapter also focuses on public diplomacy, rather than soft power, given that, although they are related concepts, they have inherent distinctions. It defines media-based public diplomacy as 'the direct use of media for public diplomacy purposes as distinguished from other forms of public diplomacy'. The chapter suggests the conversion or failure to convert specific Chinese polices about the success and/or failure of efforts by government to promote favourable framing of specific policies in foreign news media. As defined in the chapter, media-centric public diplomacy is where and when media act for their own volition to represent China in ways that promote or blight its image.
