China's growing attempts to amplify its influence overseas were amplified after the ruling Communist Party announced its plan to impose stricter surveillance on all media content in March.

This consolidation aims to make all broadcast media serve as China's mouthpiece, allowing the Communist Party to have a streamlined institution to project its ideal image abroad.

This move came after Chinese President Xi Jinping laid out a vision during a speech last December that Beijing is ready to "provide more opportunities for the world through our development."

Analysts have recently said that the series of moves adds up to the Communist Parties consolidation of its efforts to expand strategies designed to influence foreign governments and major global institutions like the United Nations.

As China grows into an economic and political world power, it is accompanied by an increasing need to frame a dominant image domestically to prove this to Chinese citizens.

"What we are seeing [under Xi Jinping] is the expansion of influence abroad in the last five years," said Sarah Cook, senior research analyst for East Asia at the Washington-based think tank Freedom House.

Read more: Will China's regulator reshuffle turn all state media into propaganda?

China has been advancing its agenda at the UN by curtailing human rights advocacy efforts. For example, China and Russia led a group of countries to block the secretary-general's request to fund a key human rights unit within his office.

This case is part of a larger trend with Beijing and the Kremlin gaining more influence in international forums like the UN.

According to Merriden Varrall, Director of the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, since China feels it is being forced by other countries to comply to standards that it argues aren't universal, the recent soft power push is a sign that Beijing wants the issue of human rights to take a back seat on the international agenda.

"Some would see this as being quite convenient given where China sits on international measures of human rights," Varrall told DW.

The 'United Front'

China largely relies on the operation of the so-called United Front Work Department to cultivate support and grow influence overseas.

Through a range of carefully orchestrated movements, the United Front is entrusted with the mission to "unite all forces that can be united" worldwide while establishing a "iron Great Wall" to prevent opponents abroad from interfering.

As Xi highlights the significant role played by the United Front in the Communist Party, several members of the United Front have risen through the ranks inside the party.

The Financial Times recently reported that Beijing has also designated works related to the United Front to Chinese embassies across the world, setting up a streamlined operation that allows China to advance its agenda.

However, analyst Cook points out that other countries have become more aware of China' soft power influence operations. Bodies like the United Front and cultural institutes like the Confucius Institute have come under scrutiny.

Even though awareness about the United Front's agenda is growing, western countries still face the challenge of determining the appropriate countermeasures to threats from Beijing in a democratic setting.

"I think the main challenge is how do [western governments] respond to genuine threat to freedom but do it in a way that's compatible with democratic values," Cook said.

Read more: Soft power - China's expanding role in the Middle East

Xi Jinping: a political history Slow beginnings Xi Jinping, the son of communist revolutionary and political leader Xi Zhongxun, started his political career when he was finally accepted as a member of China’s Communist Party in 1974. Xi had applied to join the party several times, but was rejected due to his father’s political history — Xi Zhongxun had been purged in 1962 and was then persecuted and jailed during China's Cultural Revolution.

Xi Jinping: a political history Rise to the top Xi studied chemical engineering at Tsinghua University, but after acceptance to the Communist Party he worked hard to reach the top ranks. In 1982, he started out as a party secretary in Herbei province before advancing to more senior roles in the country, such as numerous provincial governor positions and then party chief in China’s second biggest city and financial hub Shanghai.

Xi Jinping: a political history Presidential success On November 15, 2012, Xi was elected general secretary of the Communist Party and chairman of the Central Military Commission by the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which informally made him China’s leader. On March 14, 2013, Xi was officially elected president in a confirmation vote by the 12th National People’s Congress. He replaced Hu Jintao who had served his two terms.

Xi Jinping: a political history The Chinese Dream Following his election, the phrase "Chinese Dream" became the political slogan of Xi’s leadership. While some thought it echoed the American Dream, it refers to the rejuvenation of China. Xi has called for the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and for his country to take its "due place in the world." He said that China is "resolved to fight the bloody battle against our enemies."

Xi Jinping: a political history Historic meeting On November 7, 2015, Xi met with then-Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore, in the first meeting between China and Taiwan's leaders since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. However, in March 2018, Xi Jinping warned Taiwan it would face the "punishment of history" for any attempt at separatism. It was Xi's harshest warning yet to the island, which China claims as its territory.

Xi Jinping: a political history Core leader On October 27, 2016, Xi was declared the "core" leader of the Communist Party, a title that is bestowed upon a leader who is seen as central to the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Just three others have been given the title, including Chairman Mao Zedong, who's commonly considered to be the founding father of modern China, former chairman Deng Xiaoping and former president Jiang Zemin.

Xi Jinping: a political history Military influence In December 2017, the People's Armed Police in China was put under the command of the Central Military Commission, which controls China's military. It put the 660,000-strong force under the direct control of President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission as armed forces chief and commander in chief.

Xi Jinping: a political history Indefinite power On March 17, 2018, China’s parliament elected Xi for a second term and unanimously voted in favor of an amendment to the country’s constitution that removed presidential term limits. China previously had a limit of two terms, a system brought in by former leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982, to prevent lifelong dictatorships. The amendment allows President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely. Author: Louisa Wright



A retreat of 'western' values?

China's rise to success has been dubbed the "China Model," referring to an authoritarian capitalism that Beijing has been actively promoting in developing countries.

In a report published by the Brookings Institute in Washington, non-resident fellow Yun Sun highlights how African countries like Ethiopia consider the China Model a complete success and want to build their system and institutions based on the Chinese system.

Even though China emphasizes that the training programs mostly focus on capacity development of political parties, Beijing still attempts to promote China's experience in governance and development to African countries on these occasions.

"China actively pushes African political party members to personally experience China's economic success and systematically train them on China's paths to such a success," Sun wrote in the report.

Varrall indicates that the China Model remains appealing to countries without a strong liberal-democratic tradition, as China indicates that a country can succeed economically while remaining politically closed.

"There has been some positive responses to China's media efforts, for example in some parts of Africa and the Pacific," Varrall said.

Beijing recently said they would not seek to export their social models abroad in a editorial in the party mouthpiece Global Times. However, Cook explains that China is adopting a new strategy that allows them to avoid explicitly stating their intention to promote China's governance model. She said this new tactic could potentially exacerbate risks to democratic values in certain countries.

Even though China's strategy may have proven to be partially effective, Cook believes that there is a possibility that China could see some negative consequences.

"I think [we could] see increased censorship and control over access to information domestically," Cook said. "Internationally, there might be ways that some of these measures are more effective, but in other ways, it can also backfire at them."