Research On Confucius Institute Project In USA In The Sight Of Soft Power

The rise of China could be one of the most prominent political developments in the 21th century.The Confucius Institute(CI)Project,an important soft power resource for Chinese government,has developed rapidly all over the America.The America is the country which has the largest number of Confucius Institutes in the world.The thesis sets CI Project as a case study to elaborate the practicality of China' s soft power in USA under the background of Cross-Cultural Communication.It is centered on four questions:1.what' s the connections between China' s soft power and CI Project;2.why has CI Project been developing rapidly in USA;3.what are the reasons behind CI Project' s setbacks in USA;4.what is the prospect of CI project in the America and how to improve it?The related theories used in the thesis include:Constructivism of International Image and Cross-Cultural Communication Theory.The thesis holds the following opinions:1.through the research of the American recipients' subjectivity on CI Project,we can better understand the Americans' cognition of CI and China' s soft power,and also we can draw effective suggestions from it;2.the reasons behind the setbacks of CI in USA can be originated from a transition from "cultural stereotype"(neutralterm)to "cultural prejudice"(derogatory term);3.with the guidance of the theory of"Three elements of intercultural communication competence",we draw suggestions for CI Project from motive,knowledge and skill.Through analysis,the thesis evaluates the effects of CI Project in USA in enhancing China' s soft power:setting up a significant start;having lots of difficulties and obstacles in the process;in the three functions of public diplomacy--communication,rehabilitation and reconstruction,being evident in the function of communication,that is spreading China' s language and culture,with being intersection point between disparate political institutions and cultures of the two countries,yet without the functions of rehabilitation and reconstruction.The thesis suggests that:China had better push forward CI Project in a humble,prudent and sincere way based on strong material support from Chinese government;make CI Project a precious platform for mutual communications and studies rather than a unilateral stage for exporting Chinese language and culture;pay more attention to the cultural needs of recipient countries,emphasizing on mutual interaction with sensitivity,tolerance and flexibility of cross-cultural communications in minds;draw experience from early stage of its developments and similar organizations in other countries.The CI Project should and can be an ideal platform for conversation,cooperations and win-win situation for both countries.