Building China's Soft Power for a Peaceful Rise

With China’s rapid economic progress and steady increase in its international influence, China has gradually embarked on the soft power idea and has made developing its soft power as its national strategy. We argue that China’s soft power strategy is in accordance to Chinese Confucian culture and political value and fits well with its grand strategy of peaceful rise. Based on existing conceptualizations of soft power, we expanded the sources of soft power to six pillars: cultural attractiveness, political values, development model, international institutions, international image, and economic temptation. We also identified three channels for wielding soft power: formal, economic, and cultural diplomacies. Putting all the basics together, we present an integrative model of soft power. Accordingly, we analyze the sources and limits of China’s soft power and suggest how to improve it.