China says Ahlan !

China’s attempt to reach out to the Arab world

China announced the launch of its first Arab TV station focusing in reaching out to the Arab world. Based in Beijing, the new channel will broadcast news, entertainment and other programming and will be accessible in most parts of the world. How does one view this new development ? As a state owned machinery, this is clearly one tool of propaganda that the Chinese government has come up with. Will it be effective in quelling the voices of dissent coming out of Urumqi where the recent violence took several hundred lives ( the clashes and riots were sparked between the ethnic Uighuirs and the mainland Chinese who have been encouraged to settle in the region).

Will the people of Arab world trust such a state sponsored medium ? While there is deep suspicion about state owned media across the Middle East, this new outlet will just add another voice to the clutter in the region. As regards providing ‘ authentic’ information coming out of Beijing, it will at the most be seen as a PR stunt and is unlikely to succeed.

This may be compared to several attempts by the American government to set up media in Iraq and eventual failure due to lack of credibility.

Credibility is the watch-word in this scenario. Unless there is absolutely integrity and credibility in the message as well as the messenger, people are likely to remain skeptical. In today’s digital age integrity can be checked and double-checked in a matter of seconds. In such a scenario, the Chinese need to check their motives and intentions before embarking on the ambitious project of winning over the Arabs. But at least it is a positive sign in that there may be a good cultural exchange to the extent that the Arabs may learn a bit more about china through the horse’s mouth. So, to this extent at least this is a welcome move.