Can China’s tech Diplomacy Succeed Where Cultural Diplomacy failed?
For decades, China has sought to expand its global influence. While customary cultural diplomacy met with limited success, a new strategy is emerging: tech diplomacy. Driven by rapid advancements in domestic technology, notably in areas like 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital infrastructure, China is actively leveraging these capabilities to forge international partnerships and perhaps reshape the global order.
Evidence of China’s growing technological prowess is becoming increasingly apparent.Recent successes of Chinese-manufactured jets, highlighted particularly in the context of the four-day Pakistan-India crisis in May 2025, have garnered international recognition. This technological advancement is mirrored domestically through initiatives like the Smart City Initiative, which utilizes homegrown technologies from companies like Huawei and xiaomi to address urban challenges such as traffic congestion, pollution, and public safety through digital governance platforms.
This domestic strength fuels china’s outward-facing tech diplomacy, most notably embodied in the “Digital Silk Road” initiative. This project aims to enhance digital connectivity across the globe,utilizing 5G,mobile,and satellite technology to encourage technological cooperation with nations in Africa and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Partnerships like the China-ASEAN Digital Economy Partnership, established to foster collaboration on areas including digital payment systems, and the China-SCO forum on the digital economy industry, demonstrate a deepening commitment to expanding cooperation on technologies like AI, 5G, and smart cities. Further solidifying this approach is the Global AI Governance Initiative (GAIGI), proposed by China in May 2024, which presents a formal proposal for establishing international rules and norms surrounding artificial intelligence.
Initially, China’s technological advancements were primarily focused on bolstering national independence, autonomy, and security. However,the scale of these advancements now allows China to project its ideas and solutions internationally – a shift that defines its current tech diplomacy strategy. This approach is proving more effective than previous cultural efforts, offering tangible benefits to both developed and developing nations. Lower-income countries,in particular,are drawn to the potential of leveraging technology to accelerate economic growth and improve opportunities for their citizens.
However, the ultimate success of China’s tech diplomacy isn’t measured by consumer adoption of its technologies, but by its ability to influence the international order.The critical question remains: can initiatives like the Digital Silk Road and the GAIGI achieve widespread international acceptance and effectively compete with, or even surpass, Western-dominated frameworks? Whether China can translate its technological capabilities into genuine norm-setting power will determine if tech diplomacy simply translates into economic influence, or if it will enable China to fundamentally challenge and reshape the global governance structures historically led by Western nations.
