{"id":3029,"date":"2014-04-10T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-09T21:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/?p=3029"},"modified":"2025-08-25T18:36:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:36:13","slug":"has-beijings-trojan-horse-developed-a-limp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/soft-power\/society\/has-beijings-trojan-horse-developed-a-limp\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Beijing\u2019s Trojan Horse Developed a Limp?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"block-e0c6e3dd-3ae8-4cfa-8233-ea83c58bf2b7\"><em>Text: Olga Sorokina<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-855000f5-f05a-40ef-bfe9-9752690e7308\">The People\u2019s Republic saw the launch of a worldwide network of Confucius Institutes (CIs or Hanban), supervised entirely by China\u2019s Ministry of Education, as a matter of paramount priority for the country. Launched back in 2004 in Seoul, South Korea, branches were soon open in educational institutions in the United States, Germany, France and many other countries.<br><br>The Chinese government set up a separate budget to finance the CIs. According to various estimates, between 2009 and 2010 it allocated $8.7 billion to improving China\u2019s image abroad as part of its \u2018soft power\u2019 doctrine. Education grants were awarded to 265,000 students. In October 2010 CIs went operational in more than 90 countries with 322 institutes, including 80 in the United States alone. Currently, Confucius Institutes are operating at 18 universities in Russia, eight in Brazil, four in South Africa and two in India.<br><br>The primary objective behind the Hanban initiative is to teach Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language outside of China, to control a single Chinese language testing and certification system, and to foster a positive image of Chinese culture.<br><br>But as the CI network celebrates its tenth anniversary today, many experts believe that the implementation of the idea was far from perfect, arguing that the institutes have failed in the West primarily because of their close affiliation with the Chinese government structure.<br><br>Confucius Institutes are accused of attempting to promote the views of China\u2019s governing Communist Party on such issues as Taiwan and Tibet, of limiting academic freedoms at host universities, of spying on students, and even of taking part in industrial and military espionage on behalf of the People\u2019s Republic. From time to time articles published in the Western press have referred to Confucius Institutes as the \u2018Trojan horse\u2019 of the Communist Party of China. As a result of growing criticism, teaching staff at Melbourne University and the University of Chicago spoke out against the development of Confucius Institutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3baf4063c268f93f12e04f8ac1ef1179\" id=\"block-47db4fc6-2680-443e-999d-409efe6c3b53\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\" id=\"block-af3785dc-bd61-49ff-b529-c19fbdcb4d07\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-af725a3cee9e5b671e5b9ea1347fb227\" id=\"block-4241a606-9920-49ec-b7ae-252b540b40a5\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:30%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8731722102_9a00cb43d5_h_1-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0438\u0437\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u0438\u043c\u0435\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u0443\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0439 \u0430\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0442 alt; \u0435\u0433\u043e \u0438\u043c\u044f \u0444\u0430\u0439\u043b\u0430 - 8731722102_9a00cb43d5_h_1-edited.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup><strong>Dr. Thorsten Pattberg<\/strong> is German writer, linguist and cultural critic, and author of The East-West Dichotomy, Shengren, and other books. He worked at the Confucius Institute in Beijing until late 2013. Today he lives and works in Tokyo, where he is writing a&nbsp;new book commissioned by the Confucius Institute Headquarters. He is a former Research Fellow at Peking University\u2019s Institute of Advanced Humanistic Studies \u2013 one of the largest academic institutions in China.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p><strong><em>Dr. Pattberg, how did you manage to get a job at the Confucius Institute? After all, it is common knowledge that the organization is virtually an impenetrable bastion for foreigners.<\/em><\/strong><br><br>In April last year Peking University sent me to a meeting with two officials from the Confucius Institute \u2013 Mr. Ma Jianfei, Deputy Director of Hanban, and Mr. Yang Jincheng, Director of the Division of Teachers, Confucius Institute Headquarters. Hanban is located on Deshengmengwai Street, only 20 minutes by taxi from the Peking University. We met in a caf\u00e9 and ordered Pu-erh tea. Both gentlemen were familiar with my essay entitled The End of Translation, in which I attempted to interpret Chinese \u2018untranslatables\u2019 such as shengren\u2020 and junzi\u2021 to make them more understandable for foreigners. Hanban is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. Mr. Ma told me that the Ministry wanted to have my works published by a publishing house of my choice. I chose China\u2019s Foreign Language Press, and Mr. Yang became the project\u2019s supervisor.<br><br><strong><em>What would you say has been the biggest achievement of the Confucius Institute over the last few years?<\/em><\/strong><br><strong><em><br><\/em><\/strong>The Confucius Institutes were founded in 2004 as a cultural answer to Germany\u2019s Goethe-Institut (founded in 1951), the UK\u2019s British Council (founded in 1934) and France\u2019s Alliance Fran\u00e7aise (founded in 1883 but based on a somewhat different model). The success of CIs boils down to sheer numbers: there are already 350 CIs operating around the world, about a hundred more than there are Goethe-Instituts or British Councils. While the global market for British and German culture is saturated, Hanban aims to establish 1,000 CIs. But are the CIs really effective? I am not so sure.<br><br><strong><em>What are the \u2018tools\u2019 the Confucius Institutes are using to raise awareness? There are generous scholarships, free materials and well-trained teachers. Is this is not enough?<\/em><\/strong><br><br>The CI first wins the hearts and minds of top officials at foreign universities: deans, professors, and administrators. That\u2019s why CIs are associated with foreign universities. That gives China an edge. In addition, any CIs abroad have \u2018co-directorships\u2019&nbsp;\u2013 one dean from China and one from another country.<br><br>That\u2019s a great strategy. I have seen with my own eyes how Western specialists compete for those prestigious posts of \u2018Director of the Confucius Institute for X-land at the University of Y.\u2019 It\u2019s inevitably followed by a promotion at the University of Y from unknown professor to the rank of dean. It is because, when dealing with China, no one takes half measures. The perks are obvious: an affiliation with China\u2019s Ministry of Education, easy access to visas, flights, conferences, and wining and dining. Naturally, the newly appointed deans will introduce their students to their CIs. It\u2019s an authoritarian-style top-down approach.<br><br><strong><em>What are the reasons behind Confucius Institutes\u2019 setbacks in the West?<\/em><\/strong><br><br>Frankly, I don\u2019t think the CIs are very successful in promoting Chinese culture. The West brought Western values to China \u2013 concepts like democracy, human rights, the rule of law, philosophy, science, economics, capitalism, and communism. That was true soft power. China, on the other hand, has nothing to offer in return. The CIs teach the Chinese language; so students learn the Chinese words for all those Western concepts. They learn how to write democracy in Chinese \u2013 \u2018minzu zhuyi\u2019.<br><br>If the Confucius Institutes were Goethe-Instituts or British Councils, they would be promoting unique Chinese concepts to the West, concepts like wenming, datong, and rujia (\u2018essence of civilized society,\u2019 \u2018great harmony or unity in the society,\u2019 and \u2018ability to govern\/benevolence of the people\u2019). But no, the CI textbooks give you nice Western-style \u2018translations\u2019: civilization, harmony, and Confucianism. That\u2019s a 1:1 Western reproduction!<br><br>As long as the Chinese educators haven\u2019t decided on what China should be all about, the CIs themselves will undergo Westernization and suffer defeat. They could open 10,000 more CIs; it would be perceived as something great by the West.<br><br><strong><em>The Confucius Institute has faced criticism from Western media and scholars. For instance, some accuse it of promoting Chinese Communist Party values rather than traditional Confucianism. What can you say about the criticism that CIs face in the West?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>As long as China continues to waste billions in renminbi to fund the CIs, all will be fine. What sense does it make to criticize the sponsor? Also, as I said earlier, at the moment, the demand for CIs from foreign universities isn\u2019t ebbing, as academics and politicians obviously want to raise their profile using this \u2018Chinese government connection.\u2019<br><br><strong><em>The Institute has been criticized for its direct affiliation with the Chinese government. The very objective of soft power, which is to promote a nation\u2019s image, no longer makes any sense since the public view it as pro-government propaganda. What do you think?<\/em><\/strong><br><br>Sure, the CIs are financed by the Chinese government, but Goethe-Instituts are also funded by the German government as British Councils are by the British government. They may appear to be non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but only on paper. That also holds true for many Western NGOs in China, such as Germany\u2019s DAAD [the world\u2019s largest academic exchange service, affiliated with the German government]. I always ask my students, \u201cWhy do you think those European states are so influential? The answer is simple: it is because they have invented the system that underlies the society we are living in, and they know how to pull all the strings.\u201d<br><br>The CIs will remain pro-government, with their instructions coming from Hanban and the ministries, but so will their Western counterparts in China, promoting Westernization. There is nothing wrong with upholding one\u2019s principles. But they can coexist peacefully. The only way to avoid further politicization, I think, is dialogue, mutual trust, and more transparency. In his political theory Confucius himself taught: \u201cSettle one difficulty, and you keep a hundred away.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f4f6810bc7dd5b8334b4b901b5ad880b\" id=\"block-c0990b6e-ff2d-490a-abf1-38ca1d61d638\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\" id=\"block-2ccd2479-b446-4106-baf8-f13fb5e15bcb\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8a0a4a3054deee75251b334a5c9357d0\" id=\"block-bbc705fb-5e0e-4cc6-a338-0b51186bf99c\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:30%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-d371285c-8745-4c0e-ba1b-3e8ef1afdadf\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/url__1-3-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0438\u0437\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u0438\u043c\u0435\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u0443\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0439 \u0430\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0442 alt; \u0435\u0433\u043e \u0438\u043c\u044f \u0444\u0430\u0439\u043b\u0430 - url__1-3-edited.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup><strong>Dr. Tao Ran<\/strong> is professor in the&nbsp;Department of Economics at the&nbsp;Renmin (People\u2019s) University of&nbsp;China, Beijing.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p>The Confucius Institute is a part of China\u2019s \u2018soft power\u2019 diplomacy aimed at promoting the image of the People\u2019s Republic. In today\u2019s globalized world, in choosing products made in a specific country, people are not only guided by the low prices \u2013 they also do it because they find it prestigious to buy something specifically made by this given country. I believe that China will be able to improve its international image and strengthen its soft power when the government becomes fully accountable for its decisions both to Chinese society and the international community, not just continuing to spend its money abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\" id=\"block-a76477ce-0b00-44d9-9059-d3f0c5257701\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ea3ba44e15c6381df39bb8f5b4b4ec68\" id=\"block-ad3089cd-f0fc-40e6-b2ad-77cfb94673c7\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:30%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-17f024fe-ca36-4702-b68e-f4faf6e5ee06\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1edc7320-997c-4483-910d-d5d27e0d973d_1-1-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0438\u0437\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435 \u0438\u043c\u0435\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u0443\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0439 \u0430\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0442 alt; \u0435\u0433\u043e \u0438\u043c\u044f \u0444\u0430\u0439\u043b\u0430 - 1edc7320-997c-4483-910d-d5d27e0d973d_1-1-edited.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Political scientist <strong>Dr. Matthew Ferchen<\/strong> is associate professor at Tsinghua University and resident scholar at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, Beijing.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p>I worked with various universities in the US and I would be surprised and appalled if any one of them would put up obstacles in the way of Confucius Institutes, or openly accuse CIs of limiting academic freedoms. The reason behind it is simple: the Confucius Institutes act as sponsors.<br><br>My understanding is that the Confucius Institutes are mostly geared toward teaching Mandarin Chinese. Beyond language teaching in the US, I seriously doubt that the Institutes would be capable of spreading any propaganda to promote the \u2018Chinese culture\u2019 or saying something definitive about Confucianism in China. That is because within China itself there is little agreement on what constitutes core cultural values, and this includes agreement on the legacy of Confucius and many other aspects.<br><br>Probably the best course of action for the Confucius Institutes and their host universities is simply to focus on language training and in so doing try to convey basic elements of the national identity in a more effective way than any government propaganda ever could.<br><br>Parenthetically, in the BRICS countries and other emerging markets, learning Chinese can be a very effective tool of economic empowerment if it provides people with the skills to do business or otherwise engage with China on their own terms. Ultimately I can say that any efforts by the Chinese government to exercise control or censorship either at home or abroad are by definition self-defeating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" id=\"block-d556375c-9127-4b30-82fe-34fc9b25f00d\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/pg_99_en-1-1024x452.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3034\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/pg_99_en-1-1024x452.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/pg_99_en-1-300x132.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/pg_99_en-1-768x339.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/pg_99_en-1-1536x678.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/pg_99_en-1-2048x903.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" id=\"block-656752a8-8366-4afa-8023-5988a2b58792\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-7fc71c67-7bcd-453d-926b-ac331d7151c7\"><em>Unfortunately, representatives of the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing were unavailable for comment at the time of writing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-54436414-9533-43af-a644-f21bc42d7fc2\" style=\"font-size:14px\"><em><sup>1<\/sup> Shengren is the single most important concept in Chinese civilization, and can be loosely translated as \u2018sagehood\u2019 or \u2018sainthood.\u2019 The term refers to the sagehood of the Chinese civilization, distinguishing it from foreign \u2018barbarians.\u2019<br><sup>2<\/sup> Junzi \u2013 \u2018righteous man\u2019 \u2013 is a concept of pious conduct in Confucianism.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ten years ago a network of Confucius Institutes was founded as a soft power tool designed to promote Chinese culture and foster the country\u2019s positive image on a global scale. However, it appears that the institution has not managed to fulfil its primary objective, and to an extent has become \u2018westernized.\u2019 BRICS Business Magazine interviewed academics closely familiar with the Confucius Institute system to explore the reasons behind this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"country":[71],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-3029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society","country-china"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Has Beijing\u2019s Trojan Horse Developed a Limp? - BRICS Business Magazine - EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bricsmagazine.com\/en\/soft-power\/society\/has-beijings-trojan-horse-developed-a-limp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ru_RU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Has Beijing\u2019s Trojan Horse Developed a Limp? - BRICS Business Magazine - EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ten years ago a network of Confucius Institutes was founded as a soft power tool designed to promote Chinese culture and foster the country\u2019s positive image on a global scale. 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