China & the U.S.: Comparing Global Influence

This book compares the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) and U.S. projections of global influence, with an emphasis on non-coercive means or soft power, and suggests ways to think about U.S. foreign policy options in light of China’s emergence. The global public images of the two countries are compared in this book and PRC and U.S. uses of soft power tools are described, such as public diplomacy, state diplomacy, and foreign assistance. Other forms of soft power such as military diplomacy, global trade and investment, and sovereign wealth funds are also examined. Furthermore, this book analyses PRC and U.S. diplomatic and economic activities in five developing regions – Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.