Switzerland offers example how to increase soft power
- By Fu Jing
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E-mail China Daily, January 20, 2016
Apart from Chinese politicians' continuous efforts to provide solutions for global problems, China is also trying to improve the capacity-building of its think tanks. And a group of 25 academic organizations were recently encouraged to come up with quality intellectual results.
All these developments indicate China is keen on playing a proactive role to help provide solutions to global problems and make the world a better place. In this context, Switzerland offers at least two sets of references for China.
First, China has to invest energy, time, patience and inputs to build platforms to come up with influential thoughts and ideas. And to make debates interesting and fruitful, the government, businesses, the media and the academia should play their respective roles. Businesses, for example, should fulfill their social responsibilities of offering financial support to build such platforms.
The World Economic Forum reached its influential position because it has been developed for more than four decades. The China Development Forum, the Bo'ao Forum and the Summer Davos are held every March, April and September, but they only focus on China or regional agendas. But since the Chinese leadership aims to offer more global solutions to maintain peace and development across the world, China has to offer more platforms to produce thoughts that will have a global impact.
Moreover, China should host more global and regional conferences. Geneva, apart from New York, is an excellent example for Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities to follow. In this regard, the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's Secretariat and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's headquarters in Beijing, and the BRICS New Development Bank's headquarters in Shanghai are welcome developments, because they will help strengthen China's soft power. Still, China has to make more efforts to play the global role that matches its economic power.
The author is China Daily chief correspondent in Brussels.
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