It is a systematic project to take Chinese culture to the global stage, which demands all-out efforts to put in place a government-guided mechanism whereby enterprises are the main players and play by market rules with public participation, and to take both domestic and international situations into consideration. It also calls for efforts to make better use of cultural exchanges, transmission and trade, pool the strengths of government, enterprises, social entities and individuals so as to build an all-dimensional, multi-layered and wide-ranging structure for the spread of Chinese culture overseas and enhance its international influence.
It is essential to carry out international cultural exchanges and transmission. We should expand foreign cultural exchanges and strengthen international cultural communication with other countries so as to give full play to the role of culture in educating people, deepening feelings and building trust. We also need to introduce the innovative outcomes of the Chinese culture in modern days to the rest of the world, allowing foreign audience to have a better understanding of Chinese culture. Firstly, it is urged to enlarge the scope of international cultural exchanges and expand foreign cultural exchanges centering on major diplomatic events and leader’s visits and relying on the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21 Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives. Endeavor is to be made to innovate the way of cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and to organize an series of lager-scale cultural events, including ‘Perceiving China”, “Cultural China”, “Happy Chinese New Year” and “National Year”. It is expected to make better use of overseas China Cultural Centers and Confucius Institutes, and seek for exchanges in traditional Chinese medicine, cuisine, martial of arts with substantial results. Secondly, it is required to improve the ability to communicate effectively with international audiences. In recent years, we have made giant progress in enhancing the capability of international communication by working on improving its mechanism, enriching its content and seeking for real effects. The plan for midterm development of the capability of international communication is to be made promptly when taking the layout of different countries into account to design scientific projects, set up reasonable standards, stress the priorities and proceed progressively. The major central news media are the key to enhance the capability of international communication. It is urged to promote the integrated development of traditional media and emerging media so as to further improve the system of interviewing, editing, releasing and playing and strive for the first-class media in the world.
Great efforts should be made to develop outward trade and investment in culture. It proved that it is better to “sell cultural products ’ than “give them away”. Nowadays, most countries introduce their own culture to the global stage through trade and investment. We should implement the Opinion on Speeding up the Development of Outward Cultural Trade of the State Council intently and bring more cultural products and services to the global by virtue of markets and enterprises. It calls for an array of export-oriented leading cultural enterprises to further deepen cultural restructuring and encourage acquisitions and restructuring of state-owned cultural enterprises. Meanwhile, we should establish a modern corporate system, enhance the ability of transnational operation and management, and nurture a set of cultural giants that can be compared to western transnational cultural enterprises. It is expected to support more competitive private companies to engage in cultural trade and treat them equally with state-owned cultural enterprises in fiscal subsidiary, tax and financial support. More efforts will be stepped up to develop a vivid cultural exporting situation in which public ownership is the mainstay and entities of diverse ownership develop together. Greater efforts are to be made to increase outward cultural investment. So far, China ranked third in foreign investment with a small proportion of cultural investment. Therefore, cultural enterprises are encouraged to transform investment patterns and go global with greenfield investment, mergers and acquisitions, and joint investment. It is required to build the platform and channels for cultural export, expand international marketing system, improve the layout of overseas outlets and bring more cultural products to the international market. Currently, the country has rolled out a series of supporting policies to develop outward cultural trade. Moreover, it is also urged to adopt new targeted and effective policies and measures for new situations and problems in support of “going global”.
It is vital to combine mass communication, group communication and human-to-human communication. It is not enough to only rely on the government, and the whole society should be mobilized to form a synergy to take Chinese culture into global stage, as well as take advantage of academic groups, social organizations and Chinese-funded institutions. The academic groups are guided to strengthen communications with international think tanks and foreign academic institutions. Some nation-level academic groups and artistic institutions are expected to play a constructive role in relevant international organizations and bring Chinese academy and art to the rest of the world. The social organizations and Chinese-funded institutions are encouraged to get involved in the construction of Confucius Institutions and overseas cultural centers, and to engage in programs for cultural and educational exchanges.It is required to rely on overseas students, outbound travelers and overseas Chinese. More Chinese choose to study, travel and settle down overseas with increasingly frequent international exchanges. Each of them is a “window’ to show the image of China. Endeavor should be made to increase publicity and education, and to guide them to intensify cultural awareness, improve morality and carry forward Chinese culture. There are 50 million overseas Chinese who share the same root with Chinese people. We should increase contacts with them and encourage them to participate in local cultural activities and public affairs and introduce their motherland’s changes and spread splendid Chinese culture. It is an international job to take Chinese culture to the global with foreign strengths and brains needed. Stronger measures should be taken to seek for public relation with foreign leaders, notable experts and scholars as well as personages of business communities, and to invite more famous reporters, writers and hosts to interview in China, making more influential foreign personages have an understanding of China and spread Chinese culture. The foreign sinologists are friendly envoys of the exchanges between China and foreign countries. It is essential to strengthen communications and contacts with them and support them in studying and spreading Chinese culture.
It is necessary to proactively innovate the methods and means of going global, which hold the key to its efficiency. Efforts should be made to study foreign cultural traditions, values and mind-sets in order to allow Chinese culture to “go global” and even “get-into” in light of local conditions. Firstly, it is urged to innovate the way of expression and spare no efforts to establish a system for international speech with new integrated concepts, scopes and descriptions of China and foreign countries. Besides, it also requires stronger creativity, ability to inspire and public credibility to tell Chinese stories well and showcase the core of Chinese values in a localized manner. Secondly, it is essential to introduce an authentic Chinese culture by virtue of literature, fine art, music and film. The film has represented a vivid business card of culture. Therefore, more outstanding Chinese films should be introduced to overseas market to tell the Chinese Dream and spread Chinese values and concepts in modern days to the world. Thirdly, it is indispensable to develop a modern communications network by virtue of new media and the latest technologies, and pursue fast and streamlined transmission and multimedia presentation in order to spread a multidimensional and live Chinese culture. Great efforts should be made to develop stronger key News websites, such as People.cn, Xinhua,cn, China Network Television and China.com, and give full play to the role of major business websites so as to amplify Chinese voices in online public opinion.
There is a long way to go to take Chinese culture to the global stage. Cultural Exchange Organization of Presenting China to the World will forge ahead to work on the basis to bring Chinese culture to the world in depth and width, enhance national soft power, build a socialist culture and make greater contributions to the Two Centenary Goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.