China’s Digital Presence in the Asia-Pacific

This book examines China’s digital economy and its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on the political economy of the media, industry analysis, platform studies and cultural policy studies, the book shows that China's commercial digital platforms are increasingly recognized outside China and can disseminate Chinese culture more effectively than government-supported media.

China’s Digital Presence in the Asia-Pacific explores China’s digital presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on political economy of the media, industry analysis, platform studies and cultural policy studies, the book shows that China’s commercial digital platforms are increasingly recognized outside China and can disseminate Chinese culture more effectively than government supported media. It illustrates how these platforms are contributing to Chinese cultural influence, their perceived reputation and obstacles in the region while pursuing a combined approach of culture+, industry+, internet+, and platform+.

In considering the multi-layered rise of the China argument, the book considers its growing technological status as an innovative nation through four policy approaches: culture+, industry+, Internet+ and platform+. Other + characterizations include intelligent+ and social+. These + characterizations show how China is rejuvenating, drawing technological knowhow from the region and adding to its cultural (and soft) power. The book focuses on six locations: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. The authors analyse Beijing’s changing policies towards the governance of culture, Internet technologies and digital platforms, as well as examining consumer perceptions of China and Chinese products in the Asia-Pacific region. 

In using the + characterizations, the authors provide a comprehensive analysis of how Chinese cultural and creative industries became digital, as well as investigating the key players and the leading platforms including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, TikTok, Baidu, iQiyi and Meituan.

List of Tables; List of Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; Introduction: A Giant Awakening?; PART 1 China’s ‘+’ Long Game; 1. Culture +; 2. Industry +; 3. Internet +; 4. Platform +; PART 2 The Asia- Pacific as a Chinese Cultural Landing Pad; 5. Assessing the Evidence; 6. East Asia: Hong Kong and Taiwan; 7. South East Asia: Singapore and Malaysia; 8. Oceania: Australia and New Zealand; 9. From Cultural Presence to Innovative Nation; Appendix: Survey Conducted from August to December 2019; Notes; Index.