Chinese culture ministry merger in the works in renewed overseas soft power push
Culture ministry and media watchdog set to become one under government restructure to be announced on Tuesday, source says
China will merge two ministerial-level agencies into one overarching cultural body to try to boost its soft power and reverse setbacks in its international image abroad.
The country’s media regulator – the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television – was set to merge with the Ministry of Culture to create a super cultural ministry to expand the scope of China’s ideological influence, a source familiar with the discussions told the South China Morning Post.
Both bodies are overseen by the State Council, and the merger is expected to be part of a sweeping structural overhaul of the Communist Party and state bureaucracy to be unveiled during the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Tuesday.
China has long drawn on its culture to try to expand its soft power overseas, but the country is increasingly being seen elsewhere as a “sharp power” that uses pressure to manipulate ideas and political perceptions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has pushed for China to “rejuvenate” its role on the global stage, introducing in 2016 the doctrine of the “four confidences” – a call for the country to show confidence to the world in the path, political system, theories, and culture of Chinese socialism.
