American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN (E): 2832-8019 Volume 11, | April, 2023 P a g e | 196 www.americanjournal.org CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE STATE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF CHİNA) Aziza Umarkulova Master Student at University of World Economy and Diplomacy Etibor Sultanova Scientific Supervisor d.p.s., Professor of University of World Economy and Diplomacy A B S T R A C T K E Y W O R D S In the era of globalization and the information society, cultural diplomacy is an important tool for interaction in international relations. Being a form of «soft power», it helps to strengthen the country's positive image; strengthens international trust, develops interstate cooperation on the basis of transferring the national cultural code to the world community. Culture and politics closely interact in the process of sustainable development of China's cultural policy. The relevance of the topic under consideration is due to the fact that the state, thanks to the conduct of such a policy, sets the parameters for the implementation of cultural activities, determines the vectors for the development of culture, and also indicates promising areas for its support. Cultural policy forms the influence of various social actors on the ongoing changes in the life of society as a whole. The author proposes to study cultural diplomacy as an independent type of diplomacy at this stage of development of international relations, despite the close relationship of the phenomenon under study with such areas as: foreign cultural policy, public diplomacy, national branding, propaganda, soft power, and foreign policy image. The article presents various definitions of cultural diplomacy. An attempt was made to identify the main tools, mechanisms and resources of the studied type of diplomacy. The main principles of cultural diplomacy are given: intercultural dialogue; justice, equality; respect and recognition of cultural diversity and heritage; protection of international human rights; global peace and stability. The main aspects are described, through the disclosure of which one can study cultural diplomacy, namely: political, economic, security issues. The author focuses on the «soft power» of the modern foreign economic strategy of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The possibility of using the experience of cultural diplomacy of the PRC by other countries is emphasized. China, cultural diplomacy, cultural industry, soft power, public diplomacy American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 11, April, 2023 P a g e | 197 www.americanjournal.org Introduction Cultural diplomacy and "soft power" of economic influence: conceptual provisions. Public diplomacy, the conceptual principles of which were proposed in 1965 by Edmund Gallion1, is a set of measures aimed at studying the target foreign audience in order to influence it with an appropriate arsenal of tools, including establishing contacts in the field of culture. The concept of "soft power", proposed by Joseph Nye2 in 1990, has become a key concept in the study of public and cultural diplomacy. Nye defines soft power as the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion. "Soft power" means a level of diplomacy at which the cultural values, political ideals and actions of a given subject of international relations inspire respect and sympathy from representatives of other nations. "Soft power" is an important area of foreign policy and international economic relations, and public diplomacy, in turn, is a mechanism for using "soft power". Associate Professor of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University, Patricia Goff, identified two main prerequisites for the formation of cultural diplomacy. First, understanding and respect are fertile ground for the formation of good relationships. Secondly, art, language and education are among the most significant entry points to culture3. That is, cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy that involves the exchange of information, ideas, works of art, language and other aspects of culture between states and their peoples in order to stimulate mutual understanding. This is the conclusion reached by the American political scientist Milton Cummings4. British researcher Mark Leonard identified the most important goals of public diplomacy in the 21st century. All of them are directly related to the development of cultural policy: - formation of positive ideas about the country and its values, ensuring understanding of ideas and views; - attraction of foreign investments and political allies; - raising awareness of the country; - attracting people to the country for tourism and study, promoting its goods abroad5. It is undeniable that many of these goals still have a propaganda connotation, but nevertheless they all contribute to building mutual understanding between countries, so both approaches to the analysis of these goals remain relevant: both from the point of view of advocacy and from the point of view of raising awareness. about country. It would be unreasonable to say that there is only one right way to operate cultural diplomacy. However, there are some main areas in which you need to work in order to qualify for a successful result: First and foremost, communication. It is important to find common ground, you need to be well aware of what is happening in both participating countries and notice opportunities for interaction. What follows is consistency - many regard cultural diplomacy as especially useful in cases where it is not 1 Edmund Asbury Gallion - American diplomat, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy 2 Joseph S. Nye Jr. is an American political scientist and professor at the Harvard Institute of Government. John F. Kennedy 3 «Cultural Diplomacy,» in The Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy, edited by Nicholas Cull and Nancy Snow (Routledge Press), Goff, Patricia, 2020 4 Cultural Diplomacy, Milton Kyser Cummings, 2003 5 Public diplomacy, Mark Leonard, 2002 American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 11, April, 2023 P a g e | 198 www.americanjournal.org possible to establish official contact. Indeed, cultural diplomacy can fill a certain void even with strained relations between countries. But the support of this very cultural diplomacy is not always permanent. For the most part, it is activated as a last resort in building relationships. It can be assumed that it is worth maintaining cultural ties throughout the time in order to activate already established and established relationships in times of crisis, and not in emergency cases, when such relationships are only at the development stage. Innovation. As in culture itself, in cultural diplomacy everything new and not used before is welcomed and attracts attention. In addition, everything related to cultural diplomacy, be it language, education or art, has changed and acquired new properties compared to previous time periods, so it would not be logical to keep all approaches to them unchanged. Language is the perfect example of modification. Learning a language allows you to get used to the culture and learn the values of a representative of another culture first hand. Traditional cultural diplomacy promotes the exchange of moral and aesthetic ideals, enhancing international understanding. China's diplomatic strategy and foreign economic policy have undergone important changes in the 21st century. Increasing attention is paid to the "soft power" of economic impact, as well as cultural diplomacy. This, in turn, contributes to the understanding of Chinese policies and values in the world, creates a favorable environment for public opinion and improves the international image of the PRC. The development of the cultural industry and related industries is an important way to strengthen the "soft power" of China's cultural diplomacy. For illustration, the most characteristic forms of Chinese culture, which have won the hearts of their admirers abroad, have been chosen: the Chinese language as a carrier of national culture; gastronomy and national cuisine, sports and traditional medicine as historically important components of Chinese culture. The growing popularity of the Chinese language in the modern world. Language is the carrier of national culture, through which not only the cultural code of the country is transmitted, but also foreigners studying this language become subjects of influence of the “soft power” of cultural diplomacy. Currently, the goal of foreigners studying Chinese is to better understand China, and one of the most important points in doing so is to understand Chinese culture. China is developing cooperation with foreign countries in the field of education, relying on the study of Chinese by foreigners. It is necessary to emphasize the role of Confucius institutions around the world, through which a new path was opened for Chinese cultural diplomacy and a platform was created for transmitting Chinese culture to the world through language and philosophy. International communication in Chinese is an important link contributing to the development and progress of China, strengthening the position of the Celestial Empire in the world community. This contributes to the strengthening of the "soft power" of China's business culture, and brings the position of the PRC closer to the most important foreign economic partners. Gastronomy and national cuisine of the country is an integral form of cultural diplomacy and a tool of "soft power". National cuisine transmits the history and culture of local food and drink to all the inhabitants of the planet. This is an important and economically profitable area of public diplomacy. Chinese cuisine both carries extensive cultural information and is a visiting card and a bridge of cultural exchange between China and other countries. The culture of eating, accompanied by the rituals characteristic of Chinese cuisine, inspires gastronomic taste, helps to win understanding, recognition and respect of foreign business partners. American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 11, April, 2023 P a g e | 199 www.americanjournal.org Numerous Chinese restaurants, located in different countries on different continents, serve as the conductors of China's cultural diplomacy for the world community. Largely due to the positive attitude towards Chinese cuisine and gastronomy, the inhabitants of the planet form a general favorable impression of the culture of China, which affects the perception of the PRC and the potential of its “soft power”. China's food culture, which conveys the traditional virtues and simple lifestyle of people from rural areas close to nature, simple and hearty home-cooked dishes, attracts not only the global gourmet audience, but also ordinary lovers of tasty and varied food. Traditional values - harmony and friendliness, diligence and thrift, indifference to wealth and fame, attachment to the family, as well as an emphasis on a healthy lifestyle are invariably present in Chinese cuisine. Through gastronomy and cuisine, the cultural identity of China is manifested, a positive image of the Middle Kingdom is formed, which is important for the “soft power” of global influence, including the field of business contacts. Sports diplomacy is becoming an influential "soft power" in the modern global community, and a good image of national sport can not only enhance the "soft power" of national culture, but also strengthen the country's influence on its external environment through the audience of fans and admirers of sports talents. The PRC has shown the ability to successfully operate in the field of international relations with the help of soft power tools, including sports and culture. It was after the 2008 Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics that the inbound tourist flow to the Celestial Empire increased significantly, contributing to the growth in income of the Chinese hospitality industry. China has shown itself to be an open country, striving to strengthen mutual understanding with the outside world. Traditional Chinese medicine as a "treasure of the nation" and its export potential. Chinese President Xi Jinping described Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as "the precious wealth left to us by our ancestors", "the treasure of the Chinese nation", "the key that opens the treasury of Chinese culture" and "the embodiment of deep philosophical wisdom and the thousand-year-old concept of the health of the Chinese nation and its practical experience." Traditional medicine is an important tool of China's soft power. Promoting the development of TCM abroad is associated with the study of Chinese history and cultural traditions, the knowledge of ancient methods of treatment. This, undoubtedly, conveys the national cultural code beyond the borders of the PRC, turning TCM into a kind of calling card of the Celestial Empire. With the implementation of the One Belt, One Road megaproject, the dissemination of the practice and methods of TCM abroad will receive excellent opportunities. TCM promotes the export of Chinese culture products, promotes the involvement of the countries participating in the megaproject in the aura of foreign policy and foreign economic interests of the Middle Kingdom, creating an appropriate area for the purposeful use of "soft power". Conclusion Public diplomacy has become an increasingly popular topic in recent years both in scientific research in the field of international relations and in the discussions of political experts. The idea of a state's ability to achieve foreign policy goals through interaction with a foreign public is especially attractive to scientists and experts for several reasons. First, every year states can count less and less on the use of exclusively military means or economic resources to ensure their foreign policy interests due to the growing global interdependence, the American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 11, April, 2023 P a g e | 200 www.americanjournal.org blurring of national borders, and the cultivation of humanistic and democratic values on a global scale. Second, advances in technology have made it easier for the public to access and share information, which has increased the importance of which ideas, perspectives and discourses dominate the international information landscape. There is growing attention to the role of society and public opinion in the process of making political decisions, and accordingly, the importance of studying the concept, which implies the possibility of influencing the views of ordinary citizens in the presence of political motives, is also increasing. Thus, public diplomacy remains a topical area of research. As already mentioned, the goal of cultural diplomacy is to strengthen the position of the state, as well as solve problems related to the country's foreign policy and economy. So on the example of China, we can draw the following conclusions: 1. The "soft power" of cultural diplomacy is an important element of China's foreign economic strategy aimed at gaining a stable position in the field of international economic relations. 2. The Chinese language, national cuisine, sports and traditional medicine, being tools of China's "soft power" of influence on foreign audiences, still acquire additional opportunities for global dissemination by means of cultural diplomacy, which increases the export potential of these areas of activity. Cultural diplomacy and its “soft power” tools turn out to be extremely effective forms of political and economic interaction with a not always friendly external environment. List of Used Literature 1. Cummings M. Cultural Diplomacy and the United States Government: A Survey. Wash., 2003. 2. Goff P.M. Cultural Diplomacy // The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy. Oxf., 2013. 3. Leonard M. Diplomacy by Other Means // Foreign Policy, 132. 2002. 4. Nye J.S. Bound to lead: The changing nature of American power. – New York: Basic Books, 1990. – 336 p. 5. 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