Publication Type
Book Chapter
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2025
Abstract
Over the past decade, the rise of China on the global stage has witnessed the emergence of members of the Chinese diaspora as new meso-level actors in mediating Sino-Western relations. As part of China’s burgeoning “public diplomacy” around the globe, Chinese migrants organize cultural events to establish grassroots and semi-official exchanges between China and the West. This chapter provides a state-of-the-art examination of so-called “diasporic public diplomacy” whereby the Chinese diaspora plays an increasingly important role in promoting China’s soft power abroad. Based on long-term fieldwork in a prominent emigrant community, I analyse how Chinese national policies envision two specific groups within the broader diaspora—namely, diasporic elites and overseas students—as “public diplomats.” My empirical study shows that given China’s global ascendancy, these geopolitics-oriented diaspora policies have profound implications for Chinese migrants’ changing ties with their homeland and host societies. By situating the Chinese diaspora within broader structural changes, this chapter makes theoretical contributions to grounding Sino-European relations in the specific narratives, experiences, and struggles of Chinese migrants as rising geopolitical intermediaries.
Keywords
China, diaspora, geopolitics
Discipline
Asian Studies | Political Science | Politics and Social Change | Social Influence and Political Communication | Sociology of Culture
Research Areas
Sociology
Publication
Handbook of Chinese Migration to Europe
Editor
Mette Thunø, Simeng Wang, Emilie Tran Sautedé, & Yu-chin Tseng
First Page
274
Last Page
296
ISBN
9789004712140
Identifier
10.1163/9789004712140_011
Publisher
Brill
City or Country
Leiden
Citation
LIU, Jiaqi M.. (2025). Diaspora politics and a rising China: Ambivalent ties amid geopolitical changes. In Handbook of Chinese Migration to Europe (pp. 274-296). Leiden: Brill.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4157
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004712140_011
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons
