Published: 2024-12-11

Scholars from Hong Kong Baptist University, Université Paris Nanterre, Université Gustave Eiffel, and the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales shared insights on the innovative methodologies and emerging theoretical frameworks in Chinese and French digital public diplomacy at a recent symposium hosted by HKBU’s School of Communication in November 2024. The speakers offered distinctive perspectives on digital diplomacy issues from their empirical research.

Emerging Perspectives in Digital Public Diplomacy

Speaking on the topic ‘Advancing Public Diplomacy: Uniting Humanity and Technology for Global Collaboration’, Bu Zhong, Dean of School of Communication underscored the need for a shift towards a more participatory and human-centred approach in public diplomacy by leveraging on the digital influences of non-state actors like non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society groups, private industries, and the general public to facilitate cross-cultural engagements. “Digital technologies and the pandemic have reshaped global structures by enabling the amplification of the voices of non-state agents,” Professor Zhong observed, “So, we believe that prioritising human connection across cultures can help address some persisting global challenges”.

Eleni Mouratidou, Professor of Information and Communication Sciences and Vice-President of Communication Science for the Society, Université Paris Nanterre, proffered the idea of fashion as a new strategy for public diplomacy. Her presentation titled ‘Fashion is the New Soft: From Sciences to Society’, explored how the French fashion industry as an aspect of French culture has grown to generate symbolic and economic power driving French public diplomacy and serving as a mediator between France and Chinese population. Highlighting the digital interaction between France and China through fashion, Mouratidou remarked, “All French brands are present on Chinese social network and this symbolises a promotion of cultural association”.

Daya Thussu, Professor of International Communication and the President of International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) approached this discourse from the perspective of geopolitical digitization. In his presentation titled ‘Changing Geopolitics of Global Communication’, Thussu reflected on the significant role of digital monarchs, like founders and owners of major tech companies, in digital public diplomacy, adding that digital diplomacy is usually skewed in favour of certain organisations in certain countries.

“If you look at the overall trend in the global context, you will see a similar inclination of data colonisation, platform imperialism, information domination mostly by Western powers like the US and the UK”, Thussu stated, “But what is most interesting is the change that is taking place post-COVID”. He noted that his recently published book titled ‘Changing Geopolitics of Global Communication’ maps these recent changes and continuities in the configuration of geopolitics and public diplomacy.

Practicalities of Digital Diplomacy in Research

The evolving nature of public diplomacy and the prevalence of new technologies have required researchers to shift their approach in studying digital diplomacy across various cultural contexts.

Celine Song, Professor in the Department of Interactive Media and Associate Dean of Postgraduate Studies is interested in leveraging big data analytics to analyse all kinds of data, and she argued that this can be integrated into the study of public diplomacy. Song’s talk titled ‘Diplomacy 4.0: Leveraging Big Data Analytics for Strategic Global Influence’ traced the evolution of diplomatic communication from paper-based communication system (Diplomacy 1.0), to streamlined digital tools that lacked audience engagement (Diplomacy 2.0), to social media platforms (Diplomacy 3.0), and currently to AI-enabled data-driven systems (Diplomacy 4.0). She explained that each of these diplomacy eras required different focus and communication styles.

While Diplomacy 3.0 leveraged social media platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to enhance transparency and engagement with international audiences, Diplomacy 4.0 uses AI and big data for the creation of multi-modal contents, optimisation of crisis responses, and AI-driven sentiment analysis to make informed decisions. “The European Union and China are prime examples of regions leveraging AI tools to strengthen their digital ecosystems through strategic partnerships,” Song noted.

Exploring the interplay between culture and scientific research within the context of public diplomacy in her presentation titled ‘Culture to Science Diplomacy between France and China in the Digital Age’, Marta Severo, Professor of Information and Communication Sciences and Vice President of Digitalization, Université Paris Nanterre stated that both China and France promote their cultural values, emphasize their cultural heritage, and engage their global audiences through platforms like Weibo, Douyin, TV5Monde, and X.

She explained that these platforms are rich sources of data on the diplomatic activities of both nations which can be curated and analysed via new and innovative methodological approaches such as cross-media analysis, geo-visualisation of web data, web-crawling to study the networks of cultural heritage, among others. Severo, however, noted that some challenges may hinder the effectiveness of studying diplomacy 4.0 including cybersecurity threats which may compromise sensitive data, as well as the challenge of balancing transparency with confidentiality in diplomacy.

Dario Compagno, Associate Professor, Université Paris Nanterre, in his presentation titled ‘Detecting Digital Public Diplomacy Narratives and Strategies with Digital Tools’ emphasized the need to adopt more advanced analytical approaches in studying digital public diplomacy. He advocated moving from inductive analysis to causal models to better understand digital diplomacy strategies. “With correlation and association analysis, data can be observed but they don’t answer questions. So, we need models,” Dario remarked, “Causal analysis is not something we see very much in communication research, but this can bridge data and hypothesis”.

Digital Diplomacy on Social Networks

Other speakers further explicated on the practical approaches to diplomacy developed by nations in the digital age, as well as the roles that social networks play in digital diplomacy. For instance, Raymond Li, Head of Journalism Department, School of Communication, in his talk titled ‘Is Social Media Enhancing or Undermining the Public Diplomacy?’, queried the effectiveness of social media in developing Chinese public diplomacy.

Li highlighted the swift advancement of China’s public diplomacy under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, emphasizing the active presence of Chinese diplomats and state media, such as CGTN and China Daily, on international social media platforms like X to promote Chinese identity and values. However, he noted that these entities primarily engage in a one-way content delivery and rarely interact with foreign audiences. “I would say that there is a progress in the use of social media to promote Chinese values and communicate Chinese policies, the impact is less than satisfactory because they fail to facilitate genuine engagement,” he summarised.

Further extending the discourse on the nature of Chinese diplomacy, Alexandre Zhao, Associate Professor of Information and Communication Sciences, Université Gustave Eiffel provided a comparative analysis of China and France’s public diplomacy on social media. In his presentation titled ‘Panda Engagement” vs “Louvre Diplomacy”: “Emo-power” of the Intercultural Dialogue in the Chinese and French Media’, Zhao argued that both the Chinese Panda diplomacy and French Louvre diplomacy actors are fully aware of the importance of visualization in digital diplomacy practice and have incorporated visual elements into most of their contents, albeit in different formats.

“Unlike the Louvre’s strategy of mainly displaying its production in the form of pictures, China’s Panda diplomacy often presents its content in video formats in order to get more dynamic interactions from people”, Zhao explained. He further noted that Louvre’s communication strategies on Chinese social media platform, Weibo, are often focused on sustainability and the promotion of French culture. On the other hand, the Panda diplomacy on X employs entertainment strategies to seek interactions. “While both approaches view digitalisation as the main channel for the facilitation of content dissemination and the construction of meaning, their strategies highlight different perspectives of their cultural heritages”, Zhao concludes.

This symposium provided fresh perspectives on the role of science and culture in diplomacy, shifts in global communication dynamics, and the impact of social media on public diplomacy. The event also engaged participants in practical applications and theoretical advancements, offering insights into how digital diplomacy is evolving across cultural contexts and digital landscapes.