International Communication of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Digital Era

Sun Jisheng

The Belt and Road Initiative （BRI）， from concept to action， and from a blueprint to high-quality cooperation， has had a widespread impact on the world over the past ten years， and has become a representative Chinese discourse and Chinese hallmark. Over the past decade， China has joined hands with other countries in pursuing high-quality BRI cooperation， shared development opportunities for common development， which has greatly promoted policy， infrastructure， trade， financial and people-to-people connectivity and produced a lot of visible outcomes. There are still some distortions and misinterpretations of the BRI in the world， with some countries and politicians wantonly distorting or even stigmatizing the BRI， thus misleading the worlds public opinion. As the world today enters the digital era， international communication has many new features： the actors of communication are more diversified， the methods and channels for information production are more diverse， the scope of dissemination is wider with faster speed， and international communication is more instant and interactive. These new features have been influencing and shaping the contemporary international communication landscape. The key to good international communication of the BRI lies in clearly grasping the features of communication， addressing the existing challenges， designing targeted communication contents and broadening communication channels， so as to enable governments and people of various countries to better understand the BRI， and to shape a comprehensive， objective and impartial perception on the BRI in the world.

Features of International Communication in the Digital Era

With the continuous development of digital technology and the in-depth advancement of intelligence-led technological transformation， international communication has increasingly embodied the distinctive features of the digital era， and has pushed forward the continuous changes in the international communication landscape， mainly reflected in the following aspects.

First， digital transformation has made the actors of international communication more diversified. Traditional international communication usually involves government departments of a country， international media， international organizations， multinational enterprises and other communication actors， with national narratives dominating the production of information， and the form of communication mainly relying on one-way media such as television， radio and newspapers. Although the communication actors were somewhat diversified， it has the macro actors such as the state and the government at the center， with the heads of state or heads of government， diplomats， spokespersons， and other people involved in foreign affairs generally carrying out communication in the capacity of representatives of the macro actors. The development of the internet and digital technology has led to changes in the main actors of communication on a global scale， with the involvement of more actors and increased production and dissemination of personalized information. On the one hand， macro-narrative actors represented by the state and government continue to play an important role in communication， as they release authoritative information and shape the communication agenda. On the other hand， individuals have joined the communication process and become an important communication force， and digital and social platforms have empowered individuals with communication opportunities and means similar to those of governments， media organizations and multinational enterprises. Individuals such as representatives of civil society organizations， opinion leaders， industrial experts， journalists， correspondents and commentators are playing an increasingly important role. As information communication enters the era of human-machine symbiosis， international communication has begun to reflect the combination of humans and objects， where social robots can also become information producers and disseminators， participate in topic discussions， and even disguise as others to produce false information， stir up the emotions of internet users， and manipulate the direction of public opinion， thus adding variables to communication.

Second， international communication channels have been increasingly broadened. Since the First World War， the main channels of international communication have evolved from newspapers， radio， television， internet to social media. At present， traditional media such as newspapers and television are still playing their roles， but their main audience is shrinking. All kinds of digital platforms are exerting an increasingly wide influence in international communication， and the internet companies that build digital platforms have become newcomers in communication. Some scholars have pointed out that the infrastructure services provided by the current five giants， namely Google， Apple， Facebook， Amazon and Microsoft， determine the overall design and data distribution of the global platform ecosystem. Individuals can use these platforms to directly participate in information production and dissemination by means of blogs， short videos and comments.

Third， international communication contents tend to be diversified， personalized and fragmented. Traditional media usually choose macro topics that are profound and serious， and their contents and styles highlight the authority， systematicity， logic and completeness of information， such as event reports， television interviews and commentary articles. Entering the digital era， with the rapid development of social media， short videos and live broadcasting platforms， peoples habits of acquiring and reading information are also changing， and the traditional text-based news is gradually evolving into multimedia reports with both illustrations and text. The involvement of diversified communication actors has provided international communication with richer creative perspectives， and the way of content presentation has become more vivid， lively， short and concise， but also more fragmented.

Finally， the immediacy， interactivity and emotionality of international communication have become more prominent. Digital communication has eliminated the traditional boundaries of time and space， and information can be spread all around the world in a short period of time. In terms of immediacy and globalization， traditional means of international communication cannot even compare with digital communication. Through instant messaging tools， people can get real-time access to texts， images， videos， information and opinions from all over the world. The globalized and internet-based information dissemination has also facilitated a wider range of interactions and exchanges. Interaction among communication actors has become a distinctive feature of international communication in the digital era， with participating actors not only producing， publishing and disseminating information， but also engaging in information interactions. There are constant interactions between publishers and commentators， between publishers and platforms， between commentators themselves and even between humans and machines. The users not only share information， but also share emotions， realizing emotional and sentimental resonance.

Achievements and Challenges of International Communication of the BRI

Since the launch of the BRI， China has vigorously carried out international communication work and achieved positive results. As an important public good provided by China to the international community， the BRI has become a distinctive Chinese discourse and Chinese hallmark. The international communication of the BRI has brought the relevant principles， concepts and initiatives to the attention of the world.

First， the BRI has become a representative Chinese discourse and Chinese hallmark. The BRI has attracted close attention from around the world， and has become an important platform and mechanism for China and other countries to enhance cooperation and promote common development. It has also become a typical Chinese discourse and an important part of the China-related narrative of the international public opinion. The BRI has been incorporated into many important resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council， reflecting the international communitys recognition of the BRI. Apart from that， the BRI has also become an important research topic in the academic community. Academics from various countries have held many seminars and published research results focusing on this initiative.

Second， the principle of consultation， cooperation and shared benefits as well as the ideas of openness， inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation have gradually become the consensus of the BRI partner countries. In recent years， the world has witnessed increasing instability and uncertainty， and anti-globalization， trade protectionism， isolationism， and populism are on the rise. In the face of profound changes unseen in a century， China has always upheld openness to the world， firmly supported free trade， and has been committed to promoting economic globalization and building an open world economy. In the process of jointly advancing the BRI， China has been deepening international cooperation under the BRI framework with its own cooperation concepts and practices. China adheres to the principles of extensive consultation， joint contribution and shared benefits， and upholds equality， openness， inclusiveness and transparency. All of these principles and concepts have become an important guideline for all countries in deepening BRI cooperation.

Third， connectivity has become a core term for promoting common development among countries. A core concept of the BRI is connectivity. It not only advocates policy， infrastructure， trade， financial and people-to-people connectivity， but also jointly promotes four-dimensional connectivity of land， sea， air and the internet. It involves not only geographic interconnection， but also smooth interconnection and integration in such areas as politics， economy， culture， society and the internet. The BRI cooperation has achieved many visible results in terms of connectivity. China always does what it says. In terms of concrete actions， China has made substantial efforts to help many countries improve their transportation infrastructure， by improving land transportation， and building airports， ports and harbors.

Fourth， the BRI has advanced the all-round communication of China and further enhanced understanding on China by the international community. The BRI involves not only material cooperation in infrastructure， economy and trade， but also soft cooperation in the fields of culture and civilization. The cooperation fields are diversified. Various kinds of reports and communications on the BRI have covered different aspects of China， and the related topics have effectively promoted the all-round communication on China.

The international communication of the BRI faces constraints from the external environment and its own communication capacity. For a long time， the international communication landscape has been characterized by “a strong West and a weak East”. Some countries adhere to the Cold War mentality and put negative labels such as the so-called “debt trap” on the BRI， which misleads public opinion in the world and tarnishes the image of the BRI.

Chinas international communication capacity for the BRI needs to be further upgraded. First， the existing communication means for the BRI is relatively rigid and single-channeled， relying too much on the official media， with limited horizontal reproduction by other media to help spread Chinas voice， and the communication hierarchy needs to be further extended vertically. Second， the image of the BRI still tends to be shaped by other parties. Due to language and information-receiving habits， many countries often use the Western media as their information source， which has resulted in the bias of some Western media towards the BRI being transformed into a wider range of views， thus affecting the objective understanding of the BRI. Third， the communication of the BRI doesnt have adequate audience-targeted and regions-based expressions， and the information content and communication means is not diversified enough， neither targeted nor precise enough， all of which has reduced the effect of communication.

Paths to Strengthen International Communication of the BRI in the Digital Era

First， the building of international communication infrastructure in the digital era should be accelerated. International communication in the digital era must first have a well-established infrastructure， and the building of various communication platforms， artificial intelligence and other technical support as well as data supply are indispensable. Taking digital platforms as an example， platforms are an important field for information production， communication， consumption and interaction among users， and thus an important infrastructure in the internet era. Platforms are an important basis for international communication. They hold their own norms and values， thus impossible for any platform to be truly “neutral” as it claims to be. The battle for platforms also reflects the battle for the discourse power， which affects political， economic， social and cultural spheres. Apart from platforms， data and technology are also essential infrastructure. As the basic material for global communication， data， after being processed， becomes information. In the past， it was mainly for the professional organizations to process and disseminate data. Nowadays， platforms can store and process information and disseminate it globally at any time. China has yet to build a multi-modal and multifaceted communication system with all-round international functions， and the internationalization level and coverage of its communication media need to be further improved.

Second， the actors of international communication of the BRI should be further diversified. It is crucial for state leaders， officials and official media to take the initiative to set topics and agendas， and to make authoritative briefings and engage in topic communication at the national level. At the same time， it is also necessary to actively diversify the main actors of communication， so as to better meet the needs of audiences in different circles， fields and roles， especially those from various social sectors and those on social platforms. Going forward， it is necessary to expand the base of Chinese users on international mainstream social platforms in order to increase the presence and visibility of Chinese users.

Third， the digital communication discourse system of the BRI should be built， enriched and improved. The BRI cooperation has brought tangible benefits to many countries， with many grandiose projects as well as many small yet smart ones. The Chinese government， media， enterprises， organizations and individuals can work together to present truthful narratives of the BRI that can be widely accepted and recognized by the public through the use of social media platforms and focusing on the presentation of projects that benefit peoples livelihoods. The use of digital media to tell BRI stories that are easy to hear， understand and remember will help foreign audiences better understand the Belt and Road endeavors.

Fourth， stories of the Chinese culture should be well told to enhance the international communitys understanding of China. The international communication of the BRI can thrive by promoting the spirit of the ancient Silk Road to communicate the fine traditional Chinese culture， advocate the ideas and values contained therein， and also showcase the charm of contemporary Chinese culture. By promoting colorful online cultural exchanges through film and television， music， painting， dance and other art forms， we can engage in interactions and mutual learning with BRI partner countries， refine and display each others cultures that contain the common values of humanity， and integrate our shared cultural elements into the common narrative of the BRI. By so doing we can better advance inter-civilization mutual learning through the BRI.

Sun Jisheng is Vice President and Professor of China Foreign Affairs University