The Chinese diaspora in Brazil: How do Chinese immigrants and expats serve as a soft power mechanism for China?
Author
Fischer, Ezra Daniel
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-05-28
Pages
55
Abstract
Over the past two decades, China has become Brazil’s leading economic partner, widening its hard power while seeking to build soft power among Brazilian society. This thesis asks how Chinese immigrants and expats function as a soft power mechanism for China in Brazil. Using the concept of soft power and treating 2008 as a turning point—when trade surged, the Beijing Olympics amplified China’s image, and the first Confucius Institute opened in São Paulo—the study analyzes the interplay between state-led initiatives (e.g., Confucius Institutes) and community-based actions by privately funded diaspora organizations that disseminate Chinese language and culture. Drawing on secondary sources, trade trends, and illustrative cases from Brazil’s largest cities, it examines how migration and cultural programming translate economic presence into attraction, and how hard and soft power are intertwined. Early indications in the text suggest that soft power gains remain modest but growing, and that diaspora associations play a central role in diffusing culture and raising interest in China for tourism and business in Brazil.
I løbet af de sidste to årtier er Kina blevet Brasiliens vigtigste økonomiske partner og har udvidet sin hårde magt, samtidig med at landet søger at opbygge blød magt i det brasilianske samfund. Denne afhandling spørger, hvordan kinesiske immigranter og expats fungerer som et blødt magtinstrument for Kina i Brasilien. Med udgangspunkt i soft power-begrebet og med 2008 som vendepunkt—hvor handlen tog fart, OL i Beijing styrkede Kinas internationale image, og det første Konfucius-institut åbnede i São Paulo—analyserer studiet samspillet mellem statslige initiativer (fx Konfucius-institutter) og community-baserede tiltag fra privatfinansierede diasporaorganisationer, der udbreder kinesisk sprog og kultur. Med sekundære kilder, handelstendenser og illustrative eksempler fra Brasiliens største byer undersøges, hvordan migration og kulturelle aktiviteter omsætter økonomisk tilstedeværelse til attraktivitet, og hvordan hård og blød magt er tæt forbundne. De foreløbige indikationer i teksten peger på, at gevinsterne i blød magt er beskedne, men voksende, og at diasporaorganisationer spiller en central rolle i at udbrede kultur og øge interessen for Kina som turist- og erhvervsdestination i Brasilien.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]