Transforming France-China Public Diplomacy and Reputation Management in the Digital Era: Policy Shifts, Communication Strategies, and Impact Exploration – PubDiplo

As great powers in Western Europe and East Asia, France and China have historically influenced each other’s public diplomacy and cross-cultural communication. France’s cultural diplomacy models, for instance, inspired China’s establishment and development of public and cultural diplomacy policies and institutions. However, research in information and communication sciences on the strategies and practices of public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy between France and China in the respective territories is minimal. A major reason is that few scholars deeply understand both countries’ politics, policies, culture, social systems, languages, and media environments, given their significant disparities. Developing an analytical framework applicable to both French and Chinese contexts also remains a challenge, which entails comparative insights and an acumen to find common ground above and beyond differences.
This Franco-Hong Kong collaborative project will offer the rare opportunity for information and communication science research teams from France and Hong Kong to work together to comprehensively compare and analyze the systems, strategies, approaches, methods, and effects of public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy between France and China. In particular, it aims to study the practices of French and Chinese public diplomacy in digital contexts. The goal of the study is to investigate how France and China mobilize digital media and technology to renew, innovate, and reinvent their public diplomacy and international communication strategies, tactics, and approaches in order to advance their image, reputation, and influence while attracting and engaging target publics and managing uncertainty in international opinion. It makes a timely contribution as both countries are competing with and emulating each other in various high-tech fields, particularly artificial intelligence.
Methodologically, this project employs a comprehensive comparative analysis of French and Chinese foreign policies and governance systems to investigate how democratic and authoritarian regimes shape the formulation and execution of digital public diplomacy strategies. By examining both similarities and structural divergences, the study assesses whether these approaches are fundamentally distinct or share common strategic logics despite ideological differences. To achieve this, the project integrates cutting-edge computational methods—including large language models and social network analysis—alongside qualitative content analysis, semi-structured interviews, and surveys. This multi-method approach systematically evaluates how digital public diplomacy operates within democratic and authoritarian contexts, identifying key constraints, affordances, and mechanisms unique to each system. Additionally, the project explores how evolving communication technologies influence state narratives, power projection, and soft power cultivation, assessing whether digital diplomacy reinforces or disrupts the traditional dichotomy between democratic and authoritarian communication strategies.
The project’s deliverables will benefit academics, decision-makers and policy implementers, as well as interested stakeholders and citizens beyond France and China. The findings will be presented in the form of open-access databases, academic publications, public seminars, as well as consultation and training programs. It will spearhead an innovative transcontinental cooperation between leading French and Chinese experts and institutions.
PubDiplo will also offer an interdisciplinary, comparative approach that bridges technology, governance, communication, and diplomacy—contributing to the United Nation’s vision of inclusive, transparent, and innovative global partnerships. The project can inform sustainable digital communication strategies, mitigate geopolitical uncertainties, and promote more equitable international engagement in the digital era.