China's public diplomacy. Between old propaganda and civil participation

The ongoing debate on the development of China’s public diplomacy (gonggong waijiao 公共外交) is part of the reshaping of China’s international image as a global power. After discussing the definition of public diplomacy, a concept not yet well defined but adaptable to China’s foreign policy tradition, we present a preliminary analysis of the institutional framework, political background and main instruments of China’s public diplomacy. We take into account the criticisms and perplexities expressed in Western literature about the contradictions between China’s international communication through public diplomacy and its domestic and international political behavior. The aim of this article is to provide new insights and propose a preliminary analysis of Chinese academic literature on public diplomacy. The analysis demonstrates that, although the concept of public diplomacy tends to be linked to considerations on the enhancement of soft power and the building up of comprehensive national strength, the search for an effective and original pattern does not consist simply in importing Western models of communication, but implies evolutions in Chinese society, especially in terms of major openness and participation in the political life of the country. 关于中国公共外交（public diplomacy）的讨论争论不仅涉及到重塑当代中国的国际形象、还有中国作为一个全球大国的问题。 本文首先探讨公共外交的定义，此概念虽然尚未明确，但可适用于中国的传统外交政策。然后对目前中国公共外交的制度框架、政治背景和主要手段进行初步分析，并勾勒出西方学者表达的困惑与批评意见，即关于中国公共外交的对外传播理论与国内外政治实践之间存在的严重矛盾。 本文的目的是通过对中国学术文献的初步分析，为当代中国公共外交的现况提供新的见解。 由此分析表明，虽然公共外交的概念涉及到如何提高软实力并增强国家综合实力，但是寻求一种既有效又新颖的模式并不是盲目引进西方的传播交流方式，而是意味着中国公民社会的发展，尤其是提高政府工作的透明度和公共参与度。