Chinese Cultural Diplomacy In Brazil

●Bilateral relations between Brazil and China

In 1974，Brazil and China RPC initiated their diplomatic ties. In 1993，both countries established a strategic partnership and in 2006 the Sino-Brazilian High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Commission（hereinafter COSBAN）was initiated as the body for regular political dialogue and cooperation between the two countries. COSBAN will be the main decision-making body of the Plan of Joint Action and the Ten-Year Cooperation Plan in its areas of competence. The respective Subcommittees meet each year to advance the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action or propose possible areas of cooperation.Concerning bilateral cultural cooperation，both countries agreed to uphold their cooperation in the fields of culture and the arts，radio，film and television，press and publishing，sports and cultural heritage，and foster more frequent cultural exchanges and more intensive collaboration in these areas（Funag，2016，p.475）. In terms of overall public diplomacy efforts，high-level visits between Chinese and Brazilian leaders stress the complementarity of the“South-South”relationship with“mutual benefits”.

●Analysis of China’s cultural diplomacy activities in Brazil

The following provides an overview of China’s cultural diplomacy initiatives，or better，the cultural-diplomacy-related initiatives and actions in Germany. While this overview may not be complete，it provides an understanding of the progress of Chinese engagement. We choose to look at three different fields：（a）cultural，academic and exchange activities and（b）media，publishing and information activities. Subsequently，the part on China’s cultural diplomacy initiatives in Brazil concludes with a review on current data on Brazilian public opinion on China.

●Cultural，academic and exchange activities

As cultural diplomacy initiatives are yet to spread nationally although the promotion of Chinese language and culture，Li Jinzhang，Chinese ambassador to Brazil evaluates the positive endorsement at bilateral level：

In recent years，I have seen the interest and enthusiasm of the two peoples grow in knowing and understanding each other. Activities such as Cultural Month，Film Week，photo exhibitions，shows and fine art shows，as well as the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and other sporting events，have contributed to mutual understanding and rapprochement. This will strengthen the basis for bilateral cultural exchanges，creating new mechanisms and a longer horizon.

In 2018，Brazilian National Congress established August 15th as the Chinese Immigration Day in Brazil，such recognition may further contribute to forge the image of China.

●Promotion of Chinese language

In 2008，the first Confucius Institute was opened at the State University of Sao Paulo（UNESP）. According to the Chinese ambassador to Brazil，Li Jinzhang，today，there are 10 Institutes and 4 Confucius Classrooms with more than 20.000 enrolled students，making Brazil the country with the largest number of these institutions in operation in Latin America（Li，2017）. Geographically，the Confucius Institutes in Brazil are distributed across the five regions of the country，with a strong emphasis of the South-East region.

Table2：Distribution of Confucius Institutes in Brazil

Overall，the Confucius Institutes aim to provide an educational，cultural and linguistic experience to the student. Just as in the German case，interviewees in Brazil confirm that the language sources used may combine Hanban teaching materials with Portuguese language ones，as there “is a need to adapt the materials to the local needs of the student”. Moreover，as a former staffer of the institute describes：“There are strong elements of cultural elements and national images of mainland China，but the students can discuss and engage with this content critically.” [5]Lastly，while the number of private language services is increasing，there is a great potential for expanding Chinese language and culture initiatives，specifically when it comes to primary or secondary levels，such as a public middle school in Niteroi，Rio de Janeiro State.

●Promotion of art and traditional culture

Chinese art and artists have been featured by Brazilian institutions. For example，in 2014，China Arte Brasil was held for the first time held in São Paulo with an exhibition of works of internationally renowned Chinese artists. In 2017，China was the thematic focus of the International Biennial of Curitiba，presenting works chosen by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China. Moreover，there is also support for Chinese cultural events and festivals，such as the Chinese New Year Celebration or the Lantern Festival in São Paulo，supported by the Chinese Consulate in São Paulo.

Media，publishing and information activities：

In terms of Chinese media presence in Brazil，CGTN（China Global Television Network），formerly known as China Central Television（CCTV）and part of the China Global Television Network group，opened an office in São Paulo in 2010，with the mission of coordinating its operations in Latin America，in Spanish and Portuguese. In 2016，the official Chinese news agency Xinhua launched a portal in Portuguese. The launch coincided with the start of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to Xinhua，also the digital version of the People’s Daily，the central body of the Chinese Communist Party，and China’s International Radio（CRI），have a service in Portuguese. In 2018，the China International Publishing Group（CIPG），the largest foreign-language publishing organisation in China，launched a writing competition for Brazilian participants to write on their China-related experience. When it comes to the specific cooperation between Brazil in the context of culture，the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries（Macao），also known as Forum Macao，is another venue through which cooperation can take place.

China in the Brazilian public opinion

As previously mentioned，the impact of preference-shaping by cultural diplomacy has been discussed by several authors. There is no systematic long-term study on the reception of the China image in Brazilian public opinion and no study available to assess whether Chinese cultural diplomacy in Brazil had positive impact. However，the understanding of the importance of China has increased due to the substantive presence of Chinese companies in the country. In terms of measuring the degree of favourable views on China，the Global Attitudes survey undertaken by the Pew Center assessed the views on China in Brazil with 44% of ratings being favourable and an equal percentage of 44% being unfavourable（Pew Center，2014）. In terms of differences in age gaps on views on China，young people tend to have more positive attitudes toward China than older respondents within the age group of 18-29 years（53%），the age group of 30-49 years（43%）and the age group of 50 and older（36%）（Pew Center，2014）. Similarly，Armony & Velasquz（2016）suggest a positive trend in public opinion in Latin America，including Brazil. While these numbers are merely snapshots and greater research into how the China-image is being built and impacts on public opinion is needed，the rising attention China has received is utterly linked to its economic performance abroad. What may further impact in the future is the increased number of Chinese migrants and community in the country who contribute to diversify and personalize an image of the country.

The Impact of Chinese Cultural Diplomacy on Sino-Brazilian Relations

Public diplomacy has an important function in the relations China maintains with Brazil. Under the umbrella of the overall public diplomacy approach，Chinese cultural diplomacy has a medium impact on China-Brazil relations in the sense that it shapes the perception of a larger public and opens the door to further increase the reach of China’s economic opportunities. In terms of cultural diplomacy in the field of education and exchange，language learning initiatives but also country-related expertise help shape the way China expertise is built up in Brazil. This shows specifically the role of targeting political and economic leaders，academia，as well as media and the wider public opinion at events，such as the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival. In terms of active image building and nation-branding，the Confucius Institute has a solid role in setting an agenda of China’s projected image and disseminate messages. In the case of Brazil，the cultural diplomacy approach is a learning-by-doing approach in which the different actors of the Chinese system complement and contribute towards the greater objective. Another example is China Global Television Network（CGTN），of state broadcaster China Central Television（CCTV），offering apositive China image in Portuguese language.

The inauguration of a Day of Chinese Migration in Brazil is a further step towards generating a wider platform to call attention，but also to further mobilize the growing Chinese community in Brazil. This has to be also seen in the wider context of the efforts to mobilize the ethnic Chinese overseas as it has been the case in other geographic contexts，being a useful way to furthering the national agenda.