The People’s Republic of China Soft Power: The Contributions of Overseas Chinese By Expanding Spring Festival Culture in Jakarta (2016 - 2017)

Abstract

Cultural diplomacy has become an important component of China's diplomacy and a new diplomatic growth point. It has become an important means for China to create a favorable external environment, to show a good image of the country, to enhance the soft power and comprehensive national strength. From the international and domestic situation, China's cultural diplomacy is faced with a rare opportunity for further development, but still has a long way to go with developed countries and the development of the situation. The author found China and Thailand has a good relation for a long time. After the new China was founded, from 1975, China and Thailand established diplomatic relations. Since that year, Chairman Mao Zedong and Prime Minister Zhou Enlai payed attention on the relationship with Thailand. Sirin Phathanothai is a remarkable part of the shared history of Thailand and China, and a rare bridge between the two countries. She and her brother Warnwai were sent to China in the 1950s during the premiership of Field Marshal Pibul Songkram. In the early 1970s, Sirin and her family were instrumental to a meeting in Beijing between Zhou and Prasit Karchanawat, and play an important role in that meeting. However, in a fact, Chinese culture has a great contribution to Thailand before that. Like values and lifestyle. In the new generation, China’s president Xi Jinping has come up with the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) strategy(2013). It aims to link the important part of the world, like the West Asia and parts of South Asia. Because of this, more and more Chinese people begun to enter Thailand. They brought Chinese science, technology and culture. Like more and more Thailand people started to study Chinese. In this thesis, it mainly researched the contribution of Chinese traditional culture to Thai culture in the early stage, and under the development of BRI Policy, though the China’s cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy, the relation between China and Thailand may have a new development, including chances and challenges. Keyword: China, Culture