China's Medical Aid And The Enhancement Of Soft Power

Medical aid has a special status in China's bilateral foreign aid because it started early and has served a large number of recipients for a long time,also plays an important role in enhancing China's soft power.The subjects of this research includes:the relationship between foreign aid and soft power,China's medical aid and the enhancement of China's soft power,the major challenges of China's medical aid and solutions to these challenges.In contrast with the dominant aid paradigm by traditional Western countries,China does not attach strings to its foreign aid.The basis of the China's comparative advantage of its foreign aid's impact on the enhancement of soft power lies in equality,mutual-benefit,and mutual-respect.Human resource aid is a significant way to enhance China's soft power.Regarding medical aid to African countries,China emphasizes more on actual needs of the recipient countries and serves the local people as well as improves their healthcare services by virtue of sending medical teams constantly,building hospitals and centers for disease control.This thesis adopts case study as the method.Based on the research of China's medical aid to Zanzibar,mainly its medical aid team there,the author analyses the medical aid's impacts on the enhancement of China's soft power and the pathways.The impacts fall into three realms:political influence,cultural appeal and institutional attraction,which are achieved through four pathways:build a good national image,enhance mutual trust,boost people-to-people exchange,and facilitate the spread of Chinese traditional medicine.Drawn upon the case of China's medical aid to Zanzibar,this paper has located the major challenges,thus proposed three solutions.First,China should strengthen the sustainability of the enhancement of soft power by improving the selection of the medical teams and establishing the national strategic planning for medical aid.Second,the overall input should be increased so as to consolidate the material foundation of the enhancement of soft power.Third,China should take advantage of the multilateral cooperation mechanism proactively,expanding the effective ways of enhancing its soft power.