China-Africa Cooperation Through the Lens of Social Media

Paul Tembe

How China and Africa can create a true and objective image of each other through cross-cultural communication in the era of social media. How to build a more realistic and objective image of China for Africa， especially when Africa has a large young population that see themselves and the world through the lens of social media. It is imperative to understand that means of communication be they in real life or virtual reality they only serve to convey an already existing narrative and reality. In such a case， social media only exists as an interface to access a narrative and perceived realities that are already in place. Such circumstances require that we first examine the current state of China-Africa cooperation cross-cultural communication strategies and public diplomacy practices.

CHINA-AFRICA CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Since the end of the Cold War， China-Africa cooperation has gone through leaps and bounds to reach unprecedented heights. China-Africa cooperation successes have resulted in the emergence of alternative ways of economic and industrial development on the African continent. Main pillars of China-Africa cooperation success are namely： equality and mutual trust in politics， win-win cooperation in economy， mutually enriching cultural exchanges， mutual assistance in security and solidarity， and coordination in international affairs. Relations between China and African nations vary to some degree with some at low-level trade partnerships to those that enjoy comprehensive strategic partnership. Nevertheless， irrespective of the level of relationship between China and African nations there is an urgent need to establish strategies that will help with practice of cross-cultural communications that are relevant to China-Africa cooperation. The proposed cross-cultural communication strategies need to go beyond experience brought by encounters with Western modernity.

People to People Exchange Mechanism （PPEM） was established for this very reason of having cooperation and relations beyond the level of political elite. The inaugural event of the PPEM institution was held in Pretoria， South Africa in the year 2017. The aim of the PPEM establishment was to heighten the understanding between the grassroots on both sides of the China-Africa cooperation. It is for such a reason that at times the PPEM is referred to as a People to People Relations strategy. So far， the PPEM has managed to have far reaching impact among governments and political elite. However， it has been slow at having the desired effect among grassroots on either side of China-Africa cooperation. However， the PPEM made possible exchanges and discussions between entities such as non-governmental organizations， independent cultural institutions， academic institutions and other stakeholders.

PPEM experienced a new wave of studies that went beyond trade， economics and politics in the interplay that went on between Africa and China under the China-Africa cooperation framework. However， this nascent movement tended to rely on third-party references from individuals and institutions outside China-Africa cooperation. The inquiry onto China-Africa cooperation beyond trade and high-level politics was held hostage by perspectives， principles， and other instruments of scholarship that drummed negative narratives towards China and Africa. As a result， conclusions and findings of these studies tended to replicate an imagery of China and Africa wrapped around histories that gave prominence to Western perspectives of modernity. Needless to say， that such a narrative tended to predict a gloomy future for the entire China-Africa cooperation project.

However， there were pockets of successes that consisted scholars who sought to study Chinese and African cultures within their conditions and respect. These scholars used cultural， sociological， linguistics perspectives to find solutions for establishing relevant and functional China-Africa cross-cultural communications strategies. Some even went to an extent of proposing that China and Africa ought to explore cultural similarities as a means to devise means upon which to base cross-cultural communications platform with appeal among grassroots population.

FROM PUBLIC DIPLOMACY TO DIGITAL PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Since the nascence of public diplomacy in the 1960s several nations have come to rely on this tool to promote their foreign policy in foreign shores. Contrary to conventional diplomacy， whose main focus is on high-level political， economic and cultural affairs， public diplomacy aims at winning the hearts and minds across the entire spectrum of a host nation population. In other words， one may state that， conventional diplomacy has more focus towards engaging the state actors and government officials through diplomatic processes. Conversely， public diplomacy is when a State seeks to foster positive cordial feelings in the public of another country in order to establish State-to-people positive relations. The Centre for Public Diplomacy at the University of South Carolina defines public diplomacy as an interactive dimension of diplomacy which is not only global in nature， but also involves a multitude of actors and networks. It serves a key mechanism through which nations foster mutual trust and productive relationships and has become crucial to building a secure global environment. Public diplomacy is therefore defined to include activities that focus on activities such as educational exchange programs for scholars and students， visitor programs， language training， cultural events and exchanges， and radio and television broadcasting. The aim of these activities is to improve the “sending” countrys image as a way to shape the wider policy environment in the “receiving” country.

The inclusion of soft power as a tool for gaining traction on foreign territory has ushered in new non-traditional players into the game of public diplomacy. The expansion of the public diplomacy as a field to include non-state players has come to be known as the “new public diplomacy”. New public diplomacy consists a broader conception of the meaning and implementation than traditional public diplomacy. It relies on tactics that are more expansive and have a wider reach than that of state institutions. New public diplomacy by definition aims to capture trends in international relations where non-state agents with some standing in world politics such as non-governmental organizations， civil society， supranational organizations， sub-national actors， even private companies. It aims to communicate and engage meaningfully with foreign publics offering a broader， more comprehensive， more positive image of stakeholders nation， brands and lifestyle beyond state-run public diplomacy efforts.

In line with communication standards of the 21st century， the new public diplomacy made efforts to use social media as a tool to convey and promote their messages and programmes. Facebook and Twitter social media platforms were and continue to be the favorites of official establishment such as embassies， consulates serving as a complement to standard website presence online. Social media consist of shorter messages， interactive and are easily accessible.

Corporate industry also suffered the same misnomer caused as their focus was on brand promotion that targeted a specific market group. The strategy resulted in limited number of followers. Non-governmental and civil society tended to focus on lobby methods that targeted specific interest groups， which also limited their reach in the wider population. Very few members of the diplomatic corps and industry leaders were able to adopt a type of rhetoric suitable for mainstream social media platforms， which is by all standards， short， swift， witty and appealing. In the case of Chinese diplomatic corps in Africa， social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter， have helped with an exercise of virtual public relations as in establishing and managing communication channels with both the middle class and grassroots populations successfully and with less effort， making information about China more accessible to communities beyond political elite and other officials in their host nations. The strategic initiative has resulted in endearment of China on the African continent.

Digital public diplomacy refers to the use of social media in the practice of public diplomacy with an aim to reach wider audiences in the host nation. The aim is to project a positive image of the country to the foreign public. This takes place when state players have an ability to communicate with their intended audiences by assimilating public relations strategies and techniques in their everyday activities. Social media platforms assist “sending” country to expand public relations， establishing at lower cost a communication channel between middle-class and grassroots. Scholars， commenting on the success of the use of social media for public diplomacy purposes， stated that： “Chinese ambassadors are aware that the use of Web 2.0s entire potential requires them to adapt their discourse to target publics， thereby allowing the conveyed message to circulate efficiently among its issuers （China） and its recipients （African publics）.” There is still more room to further explore mediums such as Twitter， Facebook， YouTube， Weibo， Instagram， WeChat， TikTok and Douyin for telling a deeper story of China-Africa cooperation to entire spectrum of both populations.

FREELANCERS IN THE CHINA-AFRICA DIGITAL PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Public diplomacy has recently attracted a new group of freelancer individuals that have become crucial players in the field of digital public diplomacy. In the text the group is referred to as digital public diplomacy freelancers （DPDFs）. Majority of these individuals are not affiliated to any official， corporate， non-governmental， civil society or supra-national or government. In common the DPDFs individuals tend to have in their baggage an impressive cross-cultural communication experience. Prominent bloggers at the moment are Zhao Huiling， born in China but grew up in Ghana， her main outlet platform YouTube， “My African Story” with hundreds of thousands followers; Wang Yao who started his broadcast in Kenya using Douyin after quitting his ten-year employment in a state-owned enterprise. He is by far Chinas most popular Africa based vlogger with a staggering 4.6 million followers. The most prominent African vlogger is the Ghanian-Berthold Winkler， who goes by the screen name “Mr. Wode Maya”， he enjoys a following of more than 847，000 on YouTube where he chronicles daily life in China. He started his broadcast in the year 2013 while studying at the Shenyang Aerospace University， China. They have become goodwill ambassadors for their host countries and the continent. Their focus is to teach their homeland population about culture， traditions， history， development， entertainment and social makeup of their host nations. All this is carried through broadcasting and posting of everyday events of communities where they happen to find themselves at any given time. They are driven to challenge classic stereotypes about Africa that are widespread in China.

The DPDFs have become yet another important layer of public diplomacy that has to be encouraged and afforded more room as a tool to demonstrate goodwill of a given nation to another. Chinese vloggers in Africa and African vloggers in China play a crucial role as they have a wider reach both at home and in their host nations. In essence DPDFs have become best exporters of their nation values and intentions towards Africa and China as their activities encompass and complement efforts by traditional and new public diplomacy entities.

SOCIAL MEDIA CROSS-POLLINATION

Social media cross-pollination refers to the use of multiple social media platforms either under one convergent platform or through linking multiple platforms into one private account. The aim is help followers enjoy diverse content in all of its forms as allowed by a given platform. Example， Twitter followers may be led to view content on Instagram， Facebook， YouTube， TikTok and possible to a website where the content is most detailed. Social media cross-pollination strategies promise to be a foundation for the next generation DPDFs on both sides of the China-Africa cooperation. It also has a potential to serve as a space where one may experience a shift with traditional public diplomacy actors opting adopt strategies applied by DPDFs. Furthermore， one may come to see new public diplomacy entities： especially the corporate， establish joint-ventures with DPDFs in an effort to acquire market expansions.

The practice entails an understanding of how different social media platforms work together， including how a unified voice and strategy can make ones messages and communications work more effectively. Such practice has two advantages， first it is that DPDFs messages speak directly to an array of audiences without alienating any sector of society. Second， DPDFs strategies have a wider reach with a possibility to impact on vast majority of people on both sides of the China-Africa cooperation. The genius of the DPDFs is their ability to harness and take advantage of a special kind of cross-pollination that is unique to China-Africa relations as a form of cross-cultural communications strategy. The special kind of cross-pollination consists an integration and use of proprietary social media platforms that under normal circumstances would read as a hurdle for either Chinese or African audiences and followers. Example， DPDFs sought means and made efforts that content produced and posted through Twitter， YouTube， Facebook， Instagram and TikTok could reach their Weibo， Youke， Douyin and WeChat followers and audiences in China.

Cross-pollination and further developments among diverse social media platforms hold a promise to be the most effective tool for use in digital public diplomacy. Cross-pollination may also solve the problem of one-sided participation and representation on social media and on digital public diplomacy at large. In the process of social media cross-pollination， due to language barriers and reliance on generic Western social media platforms， African DPDFs residing in China have met little to no success in their efforts to teach their countrymen about their host nation. The divide between mainstream social media platforms in China and Western countries has tended to act as a stumbling block for the African DPDFs. As a result， Chinese DPDFs have tended to be more prominent in the use of social media for purposes of public diplomacy compared to their African counterparts.

AFRICAN YOUTH DIVIDEND AS A BOON OF CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION

The term African Youth Dividend refers to the economic benefit resulting from a significant increase in the ratio of working-age adults to dependents. Population growth numbers show that by 2050， the population of Africa is expected to double， the proportion of people in their working age is projected to increase sharply and a “youth bulge”， namely a relatively large increase in the number and proportion of the population of youthful age， is rapidly forming beneath looming economic uncertainties. By some estimates， Africas working-age population will grow by approximately 450 million people—about 3 percent per annum—between 2015 and 2035. By 2050， Africa will have 362 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years old.

Despite important investments， educational outcomes in South Africa and the continent there is still a long way to go before one may refer to the current and looming youth bulge as a dividend. Instead， the current population growth in Africa and its resultant increased numbers of youth may lead volatile circumstances with mayhem being the order of the day. There is an urgent need to put in place measures aimed at harnessing the youth bulge and turn it into a dividend.

Nevertheless， there is light at the end of the tunnel. Social media in its varied forms and platforms may be used to fast-track education， information and policies aimed at youth development. The use of social media may help train the youth acquire education that prepares them for immediate and practical employment. The success of such programs is feasible as the youth of today regard social media as a point of reference for their reality， dreams and ideals. Social media being a global phenomenon， has become a window to the world beyond our real physical world. In a matter of seconds， one may travel beyond seas and across continents without actual having moved physically. Social media has come to consist school， work， and lived spaces. It is also a space that has generated both passive and active markets in every corner of the world. The wide reach of social media has come to mean that every individual in the world has become a potential market， including the African youth.

In the next two decades， with a prospect of the looming demographic bulge in Africa， whoever captures the minds and hearts of the looming African youth bulge has better chances of having a greater global market share. Social media has become a critical way for people to perceive the world and keep up with time， and has also become an indispensable part in the development of Africa. It is also inevitable to participate in cross-cultural communication and practice public diplomatic policies. Alongside the promising wave of China-Africa cooperation， having strategies in place to capture the African youth dividend may ensure a bright future of China-Africa relations， and become a crucial part of building a community with a shared future for mankind.