• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUUkraine
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Josh Kurlantzick"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "asia",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "AP",
  "programs": [
    "Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "China",
    "Southeast Asia",
    "East Asia"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Economy",
    "Trade",
    "Military",
    "Domestic Politics"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other

China's Charm: Implications of Chinese Soft Power

While China’s rising soft power could prove benign or even beneficial in some respects, it could prove disastrous for Southeast Asia—for democratization, for anticorruption initiatives, and for good governance.

Link Copied
By Josh Kurlantzick
Published on Jun 5, 2006

In a new Policy Brief, China’s Charm: Implications of Chinese Soft Power, Carnegie Visiting Scholar Joshua Kurlantzick analyzes China’s influence and policy tools of soft power and argues that, while China’s rising soft power could prove benign or even beneficial in some respects, it could prove disastrous for Southeast Asia—for democratization, for anticorruption initiatives, and for good governance.

Over the past decade China has downplayed its hard power in Southeast Asia, instead creating a strategy to build its soft power. For the first time in post-WWII history, the United States may be facing a situation in which another country’s appeal outstrips its own in an important region, a change sure to shock the United States. Before China’s appeal spreads to other parts of the developing world, U.S. policy makers need to understand how China exerts soft power, if China’s soft power could be dangerous to developing nations, and whether elements of China’s charm could threaten U.S. interests. 

Click on the link above for the full text of this Carnegie publication.

Joshua Kurlantzick is a visiting scholar in the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

About the Author

Josh Kurlantzick

Former Visiting Scholar, China Program

A special correspondent for The New Republic, a columnist for Time, and a senior correspondent for The American Prospect, Kurlantzick assesses China’s relationship with the developing world, including Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

    Recent Work

  • In The Media
    Fighting Terrorism With Terrorists

      Josh Kurlantzick

  • Other
    Beijing’s Safari: China’s Move into Africa and Its Implications for Aid, Development, and Governance

      Josh Kurlantzick

Josh Kurlantzick
Former Visiting Scholar, China Program
Josh Kurlantzick
Political ReformDemocracyEconomyTradeMilitaryDomestic PoliticsChinaSoutheast AsiaEast Asia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Win or Lose, Orbán has Broken Hungary’s Democracy

    Hungarians head to the polls on April 12 for an election of national and European consequence. Three different outcomes are on the cards, each with their own implications for the EU.

      Zsuzsanna Szelényi

  • Article
    Rewiring the South Caucasus: TRIPP and the New Geopolitics of Connectivity

    The U.S.-sponsored TRIPP deal is driving the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process forward. But foreign and domestic hurdles remain before connectivity and economic interdependence can open up the South Caucasus.

      • Areg Kochinyan

      Thomas de Waal, Areg Kochinyan, Zaur Shiriyev

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Is France Shifting Rightward?

    The far right failed to win big in France’s municipal elections. But that’s not good news for the country’s left wing, which remained disunited while the broader right consolidated its momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential race.

      Catherine Fieschi

  • Commentary
    Is the Radical-Right Threat Existential or Overstated?

    Amid increased polarization and the influence of disinformation, radical-right parties are once again gaining traction across Europe. With landmark elections on the horizon in several countries, are the EU’s geostrategic vision and fundamental values under existential threat?

      Catherine Fieschi, Cas Mudde

  • Research
    Planetary vs International Security: Economic Growth at the Crossroads

    Economic growth is at the heart of a dilemma between planetary and international security.

      Olivia Lazard

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.