What does US Confucius Institute move mean for Chinese soft power in Asia?

As part of a widening rift between the United States and China, Washington has designated Confucius Institutes in the US as foreign missions.

The US said that the institutes, which offer language and cultural programmes overseas, usually in partnership with schools or colleges, were "owned and effectively controlled" by a foreign government.

Announcing the move, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused them of "advancing Beijing's global propaganda and malign influence campaign" in American classrooms and on campuses.

In response, China said the US measures had "demonised and stigmatised" the operators of what were essentially cooperative educational projects.

First set up in 2004 in South Korea, Confucius Institutes are aimed at promoting Chinese language and culture around the world. By the end of last year, there were 541 Confucius Institutes in 162 countries, alongside 1,193 Confucius classrooms in elementary and secondary schools.

In addition to language classes, some institutes run culture classes ranging from calligraphy and Chinese dance, to cooking, tai chi, Chinese opera and traditional Chinese medicine. Many also sponsor educational exchanges and hold public events and lectures.

Students write Chinese calligraphy at the Confucius Institute in Brussels. Photo: Xinhua alt=Students write Chinese calligraphy at the Confucius Institute in Brussels. Photo: Xinhua

The Chinese director of a Confucius Institute in the US which has since been closed explained that the first step for any school or college wanting to host an institute was to submit a request to Hanban, the Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing and an agency under China's education ministry.

Hanban would then assess whether the body met its criteria before approving funds and sending staff that would include the institute's Chinese director, teachers and volunteers, all of whom would have to pass a written test and interview before being sent overseas.

The director, who asked to use the alias "Wang Lei" due to the "sensitivity" of the subject, said applications were sometimes turned down, depending on the host school's staffing strength and other academic factors.

While most of the funding comes from Hanban, administrative and financial overheads are often shared with the host school or university.

A handful of institutes are self-sustaining and do not need to rely heavily on Hanban funding, according to Wang Lei.

These are usually institutes with large student populations that can cover their overheads by collecting course and examination fees.

"This was the original intention of Hanban when it first set up the overseas institutes, that they could survive on their own by taking care of their bottom line," Wang Lei said.

Former Confucius Institute teacher Yang Shaofang said the host institutions chose what textbooks were used.

"The textbooks used are different in every institute as learning habits and patterns vary from country to country, which means that textbook requirements also differ," Yang said.

Yang, who taught in South Korea in 2010, said her institute had used textbooks compiled in South Korea, even though this meant standards were sometimes lower, compared to using textbooks compiled in China.

This month, amid growing concerns over Chinese influence, Indian media reported that the education ministry would review Confucius Institutes at Indian universities, and cooperative agreements signed between Indian and Chinese institutions. Initial assessments found that many Indian institutions had entered into agreements with Chinese universities without the necessary approvals from the central government.

Indian media reported the review had since focused on two centres operating out of Kolkata and Mumbai as these were involved in elaborate student exchange programmes.

Indira P. Ravindran, who teaches international relations at a leading Shanghai university, said scrutiny of Confucius Institutes in India would hurt the Indian public less than New Delhi's recent ban on Chinese apps.

"Thus, I would not be surprised if the Indian government took a harsh view of these institutes. In any case, Taiwanese tie-ups are the preferred language-coaching partners for Indian institutions," Ravindran said.

A statue of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius at the Confucius Temple in Beijing. Photo: AP alt=A statue of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius at the Confucius Temple in Beijing. Photo: AP

She added: "The decision by the Indian government [on Confucius Institutes] would have no material bearing on already strained ties. However, this could be a valuable future bargaining point or goodwill gesture by either side."

In Australia, investigations are under way into whether agreements between universities and the institutes have violated anti-foreign interference laws.

These come amid deteriorating ties between Canberra and Beijing and growing concerns that Australian universities' academic freedom may be compromised by an overreliance on revenue from Chinese international students.

This month, the University of New South Wales came under fire for deleting social media posts that were critical of Beijing's actions in Hong Kong. Several MPs and senators accused the university of compromising academic freedom.

In a written reply, the La Trobe Confucius Institute, which has seven staff and offered language classes to more than 300 people last year, said it provided Chinese language classes to university staff, students and the broader community, as well as a range of activities designed to develop a deeper cultural understanding of China. The institute said it was governed by Australian law and "complies with the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme".

Steven I. Levine, from the Department of History in the University of Montana, said Confucius Institutes in the US would continue to decline as more colleges and universities came "to the belated realisation that embedding Chinese government institutions on their campuses and classrooms is incompatible with the values of a free society".

"Learning Chinese language and culture are vitally important, to be sure, but Americans should invest our own resources in doing so rather than accepting handouts from an oppressive and authoritarian government," Levine said.

Williams College political science professor Sam Crane said Confucius Institutes had already been losing their charm.

A screen shot of the Confucius Institute on the University of Michigan's website. Photo: Confucius Institute alt=A screen shot of the Confucius Institute on the University of Michigan's website. Photo: Confucius Institute

"In the past few years, several had closed and others were being reconsidered. This latest decision will make it harder to maintain Confucius Institutes, as political pressure builds to limit foreign agents," Crane said.

University of New Hampshire political science professor Lawrence Reardon pointed out that the US government was not forcing the institutes to close. Rather, they would need to report to Washington about their activities, personnel and financing.

"If the Chinese wish to continue to encourage understanding of Chinese culture and language, then I assume they will submit the paperwork. They should be happy to be given the opportunity to talk about the language and culture programmes they promote, assuming they are running an open shop," Reardon said.

Reardon said students had seen the institute at his university as a useful educational source and not a "tool of political propaganda". However, he acknowledged not all institutes were run in the same way and that supervision might be needed.

According to the National Association of Scholars in the US, as of June 30 this year, there were 75 Confucius Institutes in the country.

When Wang Lei's institute was closed down last year, many of the students were upset and questioned the move. "Many primary and secondary schoolteachers also wrote letters of appreciation to thank us for our efforts ... But these voices cannot be heard under the present political climate, where the mainstream voice appears to be that China is the source of all evil," Wang Lei said.

Confucius Institutes have found themselves in the middle of US-China tensions. Photo: AP alt=Confucius Institutes have found themselves in the middle of US-China tensions. Photo: AP

Wang Lei said events hosted by the institutes had been downsized over the past two years as suspicion towards them grew.

"In the past, we organised cultural exhibitions, brought in dance troupes, and took part in performances and festivals. We were also invited to perform in local Chinese communities, play the guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, and write couplets, especially during the Spring Festival," Wang Lei recalled.

His institute, like some others, closed last year after the US passed a law in 2018 prohibiting universities hosting Confucius Institutes from receiving funding for Chinese language studies from the Department of Defence.

While Confucius Institutes in Asia do not face the same problems as in the US, they face pressures of their own.

The websites of various institutes in the region suggest limited recent activity, though it is hard to tell whether this is purely a result of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures or if it is a sign of a deeper malaise. The Confucius Institute in Thailand's Mahasarakham University said on its website that one of its last activities was a Chinese dance competition in February, while Phuket's Prince of Songkla University last posted a video of its online classes on Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website) on March 9. On August 1, the Ateneo de Manila University's Confucius Institute posted on its Facebook page a video of a webinar on traditional Chinese medicine that it held on the same day.

Levine said some Asian countries were increasingly wary of China's geopolitical ambitions. Arguing that China's soft power efforts were a hard sell, Levine said Confucius Institutes were "a state franchise in decline".

"Imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong is just the most recent example of why it is so difficult for Beijing to convince others of its goodwill," Levine said.

Crane said Asian countries would also be swayed by bilateral issues.

"For example, if tensions over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands tip into actual military action, I suspect Japan might move to restrict various aspects of China's presence, including Confucius Institutes," Crane said.

However, former teacher Yao said geopolitics had not affected the South Korea institute where she taught. She put this down to "cultural similarities" between South Korea and China.

Apart from language classes, the institute in Korea also conducted oratory competitions, skits, and classes in clay work and paper folding.

Ravindran said that given the pandemic, backlash over China's Belt and Road investments and tensions in the South China Sea, "education and culture have taken a back seat everywhere, and the Asian region is no exception". Ravindran suggested China was likely to rethink its approach to the institutes and that "online Confucius Institute spin-offs" were a "distinct possibility".

Arguing that Chinese soft power in the US was "declining precipitously", Crane said this was partly a reflection of the limits of soft power itself.

"Economic, political and military issues are much more influential in international relations than soft power," said Crane, who felt US-China ties were at their lowest point since diplomatic relations were established in 1979.

Reardon said the institutes had succeeded in explaining the complexity and richness of the Chinese language and culture to foreigners, but had not strengthened the soft power of the Communist Party. "The party state must take responsibility for the draconian Sinicisation programme of the Turkic peoples of Xinjiang, the adoption of the National Security Law, unresolved questions about Covid-19, and financial problems encountered by many countries receiving Belt and Road monies," Reardon said.

Ravindran had mixed feelings. While there was a genuine attempt at cultural outreach and teachers were "fresh, hopeful and believed in their mission of promoting Chinese language", she was uncomfortable with "the long arm of the Chinese government that strictly controls content from thousands of miles away".

Ravindran noted that the teachings of Confucius himself had been discredited during the Cultural Revolution and later resurrected. "Now with the perceived hard sell of Chinese culture globally, his name and reputation will again be politicised. It is an irony," Ravindran said.

In July, Hanban announced Confucius Institutes would be fully operated by a newly established non-government body known as the Chinese International Education Foundation.

The nationalistic Chinese tabloid Global Times said the move would dispel "Western misinterpretation that the organisation serves as China's ideological marketing machine".

The foundation's vice-chairman and secretary general Zhao Lingshan said Confucius Institutes "had not in the past, do not currently and will not in the future engage in ideological propaganda nor interfere with the academic freedom of the [host] country".

Zhao called on Washington to listen to students and the community and recognise their needs for learning Chinese. "We believe most countries in the world can still objectively and correctly view the important role of Confucius Institutes in strengthening international understanding and promoting Sino-foreign friendship," Zhao said.

Wang Lei said the institutes had been wrongly accused.

"Just because we are sent by the Chinese government does not mean that what we do is explicitly instructed by the government. We are not diplomats, civil servants nor even government employees. We are teachers, professors and university administrators from various educational institutions across China who applied for the positions and were sent overseas under the Hanban banner."

Wang Lei said apart from language training and lessons in cross-cultural communication, staff received no indoctrination and were not asked to indoctrinate others.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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