China’s Expanding Soft Power: Direct Experience, Cultural Influence and Greater Openness Reshape Global Perceptions

Dragon Media News Desk

International perceptions of China have undergone a noticeable transformation in recent years. Egyptian China affairs specialist Khadiga Arafa, reflecting on her latest visit to the country, identified culture, everyday life, social discipline, technological development and direct engagement as important factors behind this change. When her observations are compared with independently available data, China’s growing international influence and reputation are also visible in major global indicators.

China retained second place in the Global Soft Power Index 2026 published by Brand Finance. Although the United States remained in first position, China recorded significant gains in several areas of reputation and national perception. The index draws on the views of more than 150,000 respondents across more than 100 countries.

This does not mean that global views of China have become uniformly or unquestionably positive. It does, however, indicate that perceptions are evolving beyond China’s economic and commercial strength to include culture, technology, tourism, social development and people to people engagement. The older image of China primarily as a manufacturing and trading power is increasingly being supplemented by broader perceptions of its scientific, cultural and technological capabilities.

Arafa, who says she has visited China repeatedly since 2009, noted that direct experience often produces a picture different from perceptions formed through media coverage or external academic study. She said that beyond infrastructure and technology, what impressed her most was the commitment to work, discipline, attention to detail and social conduct she observed among Chinese people.

She also identified the influence of Confucian values in aspects of social life, including respect for elders, mutual obligations, discipline and responsibility toward family and society. Such observations are best understood as the reflections of a long term foreign observer rather than universal conclusions about Chinese society as a whole.

China has increasingly linked culture and tourism with its international image and broader civilizational dialogue. Its tourism development planning for 2026 to 2030 places emphasis on deeper integration between culture and tourism, international exchange and mutual learning among civilizations. Tourism is also being treated as an important channel for presenting China to the outside world.

China has set a target of attracting around 190 million international tourist visits annually by 2030 and generating more than 150 billion US dollars in annual spending by foreign visitors. Measures are being advanced to improve entry procedures, international air and rail connectivity, payment services, communications, accommodation and tax refund systems.

Recent mobility data also point to expanding direct contact. During the May Day holiday period in 2026, foreign nationals made around 1.26 million cross border entries and exits involving China, up 12.5 percent from the same period a year earlier. Of these, about 436,000 entered under visa free arrangements.

Government data also indicate that international visitors spent around 394 billion yuan in China in 2025, representing a substantial increase from the previous year. China has continued to improve services for foreign travelers, including payment systems, transport, hotels, ticketing and tax refund procedures.

These developments suggest that soft power is increasingly shaped not only by cultural diplomacy or public messaging, but also by the actual experience foreign visitors have inside the country. Arafa’s observations fit within this broader pattern. In her view, studying China from a distance and experiencing its social and development environment directly can produce significantly different impressions.

Another important component of China’s international image is its declared foreign policy. Beijing continues to emphasize the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non aggression, non interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

In 2024, marking the 70th anniversary of those principles, China reaffirmed them as an important foundation of its independent foreign policy of peace.

Arafa also identified peaceful development, good neighborly relations, respect for sovereignty and cooperation with developing countries as important contributors to China’s international image.

China’s diplomatic approach to global governance has similarly emphasized the role of the United Nations, international law, stronger representation for developing countries and cooperation across the Global South. Beijing has repeatedly called for a more balanced international order and greater participation by developing countries in global decision making.

China’s growing soft power, however, cannot be explained by foreign policy declarations alone. When Brand Finance data, rising foreign arrivals, easier entry procedures and policies linking culture and tourism with international engagement are considered together, a broader picture emerges. China’s external image is increasingly being shaped by a combination of economic strength, technological capability, cultural heritage and direct people to people contact.

Arafa’s experience can be viewed as one individual example of this wider trend. Despite having visited China many times, she says deeper understanding still requires further direct engagement. Her observations raise a broader question: is a country’s international image shaped mainly by perceptions formed from outside, or can travel, cultural exchange and direct experience substantially reshape those perceptions?

Available data from 2026 suggest that direct engagement is becoming increasingly important. China’s second place in the global soft power ranking, growth in international arrivals and government efforts to link tourism and cultural exchange with mutual understanding all point to an international image that is being built across a much wider field than traditional diplomacy alone.

In this sense, Arafa’s reflections are more significant as an example of a broader international trend than as a simple expression of admiration for China. As more foreign visitors experience the country directly, external perceptions of China’s development, society, culture and public administration are increasingly being reshaped by firsthand experience as well as by established narratives.