Lijia Zhang

Opinion | How the Ukraine crisis is hurting China’s soft power ambitions

With its aggressive diplomacy, handling of Covid-19 and tightening grip on Hong Kong, China’s image abroad had already taken a battering

It’s stance on Ukraine hasn’t helped and Beijing must now distance itself from Moscow, and seek to negotiate a peace deal, to avoid further damaging its reputation

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Tanya Nedashkivs’ka, 57, mourns the death of her husband, killed in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 4. Photo: AP

Lijia Zhang

Published: 1:30pm, 8 Apr 2022

In Morocco recently, I discussed with a tour guide Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “We African countries are not strong enough to stand up to Putin,” he said ruefully. “Why hasn’t China condemned the invasion?”

“What do you think?” I asked. He replied that perhaps China cared only about ideology or wanted to benefit from the chaos. In the eyes of this Moroccan, China’s image has dimmed.

Dr Maria Repnikova of Georgia State University, an expert on China’s soft power, said that, “China’s soft power ambitions or attempts to build a more favourable image of itself globally, and in particular, in the West, have been somewhat derailed by Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

I couldn’t agree more. Even before this, China’s image had taken a hit. A 2020 Pew Research Centre survey found that unfavourable views of China were at historical highs in nine out of 14 advanced economies.

China’s poor image was put down to its increasingly aggressive diplomacy, Covid-19 handling, crackdown on Uygurs in Xinjiang, and the strangling of Hong Kong’s freedoms. Last June, another Pew survey of 17 developed countries found China’s image remained broadly negative.

Then came the Ukraine crisis. So far, China has failed to condemn the invasion, abstaining from key UN votes.