Policy of the People's Republic of China towards Hollywood

This thesis examines the Sino-Hollywood relationship and Chinese policies with the goal of assessing their success in meeting strategic objectives and promoting Chinese national interests. The analysis is mainly guided by soft power theory with complementary aspects of cultural diplomacy, nation branding, propaganda and popular geopolitics. The People's Republic of China uses its economic position to exert pressure on Hollywood, therefore influencing the film content of American productions in order to eliminate "anti-Chinese" themes and, in turn, "strengthen the Chinese voice" in the world. According to the conclusions of the research, China has both strengths and weaknesses in achieving most of its goals, and a clear and total success or failure cannot be defined. According to the analysis, pro-China messages in Hollywood movies do not have much influence on global public opinion due to their reduced credibility; on the contrary, the absence of critical content against China can play a significant role in this regard. At the same time, China's protectionist policies have enabled the development of its own underdeveloped film industry, thereby significantly strengthening its domestic propaganda apparatus, which further enables the development of national identity and social cohesion. China has been more successful in developing its soft power in terms of a localised form of understanding of the concept. The Chinese conception emphasises the defensive aspect and domestic orientation of power, as opposed to its more traditional definition with an international emphasis.