China in PNG and soft power resources

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Recently China has increased its influence in the Pacific region. The increase can be measured in the volume of soft power resources deployed and employed by China. But does this Western notion give one a good understanding of what China is doing in the region and in PNG?

Soft power is the opposite of hard power in terms of resources. In the words of Joseph Nye, soft co-optive power is just as important as hard command power. It plays the same role by influencing State B to want what State A wants, but in a non-coercive manner.

There are 6 resources according to Nye and Joshua Kurlanzick:
    • culture
    • political values 
    • foreign policy
    • investment
    • aid
    • formal diplomacy
      The employment of the Belt and Road Initiative by China as a soft power resource is timely for a nation like PNG. Peter O'Neill was one of the first leaders in the Pacific region to sign up to the Initiative. He was attracted by the fact that China had the capability to help PNG develop its infrastructure.

      Peter O'Neill made a factual statement about the fertility of the land and the need for a national transportation network to help farmers get their surplus produce to the market. The country has a good number of fertile valleys which can be turned into agricultural food bowls. The Markham valley, the Sepik plain, the Whagi valley and the Baiyer valley are some of the notable topographic features. 

      The Medium Term Development Plan III talked about the 6 missing links in the Northern and Southern Region Corridor. Peter O'Neill wants China through the Belt and Road Initiative to help fund the construction of the 6 missing links.  

      The Bogia-Angoram missing link has the potential to connect farmers in the Sepik plain to the market in Madang and Lae. From Madang, via the Madang-Baiyer missing link, produce from the Sepik plains can be transported up to the highlands. Following the same road network, high altitude produce from the highlands food bowls like Baiyer and Whagi can be transported to markets in the Momase region. 

      The transportation network in the northern region corridor will also facilitate the migration of people from one province to another mainly for economic activities. In particular, the growth of small to medium enterprises in the agriculture or marine sector who will use the new national backbone transmission network created by Huawei Technologies to their advantage.

      In addition, it will complement the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone in Madang. This investment by China which is yet to materialize fully has huge potential. The building of the proposed canneries and other industrial plants will help PNG in its economic take off.

      The private investment by Baosen International Holdings and other Chinese companies will also complement the building of the missing links in the southern region corridor. The Wau-Malalaua missing link will open the door for farmers in the highlands and northern regions respectively to transport their agricultural produce directly to the proposed China Town or to markets in the city. 

      During the ground breaking ceremony of the China Town project, Peter O'Neill mentioned that he was aware of the large scale investments made by Chinese state-owned enterprises. In comparison, the China Town project will be the largest investment made by a private Chinese enterprise.

      The China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation, a large scale state-owned contractor made history by building the first multi-million kina international convention centre. This land mark building and the 6-lane highway to the parliament house are symbols of Chinese foreign aid. 

      The Conference Centre is now being used to stage national and international conferences. The flow of visitors from around the country and from outside will help increase economic activity in the city. Farmers from the highlands will need to sell their carrots to those catering for the visitors. As such, the Wau-Malalaua missing link will help them transport their carrot bags into the city.  

      China has a different view of their engagement. Xi Jingping stated that China does not seek a so-called 'sphere of influence' in the Pacific region. China wants to be a trustworthy friend and partner to PNG and other countries in the region. 

      Does that mean that China is deploying or employing these soft power resources to achieve a different outcome? The outcome they seek is not to influence other states in the region to want what they want, but to achieve a level of development that is of mutual benefit.

      If China builds the Madang-Baiyer and Bogia-Angoram missing links they will help with the growth of Mount Hagen, Madang and Wewak. The growth of these population centres will attract either Chinese state-owned or private large scale investments similar to the China Town project. That means a massive deployment of Chinese Multinational Corporations to PNG.  

      Zhao Leji, a senior Communist Party Official of China said they are willing to work together with PNG to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the Vision 2050 and MTDP III. This will benefit peoples of both countries through pragmatic cooperation. He also made a strong statement that the bilateral relations with PNG have become a model for China's relations with Pacific Island countries.

      The narrative out of Beijing is different to the Western narrative. China is not trying to use the soft power resources to gain a greater degree of influence but is using them to ensure that less develop countries in the region like PNG fulfill their potential. 

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