Description
China’s burgeoning economic and security activities abroad have given rise to suspicions and criticisms of its intentions, particularly among neighbouring countries. As Buddhism is a shared faith and heritage among many Chinese and hundreds of millions of people across Asia, winning over the trust and friendship of Buddhist countries has emerged as an important Chinese diplomatic initiative, especially under the current Xi Jinping leadership, amidst Beijing’s revival of the ancient Silk Road.
Having over 245 million Buddhists, 28,000 Buddhist monasteries, 16,000 temples and 240,000 Buddhist monks and nuns makes the promotion of Buddhism a rich source of attractive socio-cultural soft-power, or “soul power,” for China. China’s claim to leadership of the Buddhist world is generated from its heavy investments in building Buddhist institutions and engaging Buddhist groups in Buddhist countries. As Buddhism is very much an integral part of national identities of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a proud legacy in India, and a major religion in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan, it should not be overlooked for the conduct of Chinese diplomacy.
The paper analyses what the objectives of China’s Buddhist diplomacy are, which personnel, organizations or state bureaus in China make China’s Buddhist diplomacy, how is it carried out, what the targeted institutions and personnel in the affected countries are, and what the reactions from the targeted countries are.
