The Chinese approach to public relations often comes under fire by groups that espouse values of engagement and transparency. There is an attempt to measure Chinese PR performance against liberal democratic ideals, and unsurprisingly, those using this metric often come up disappointed time and time again.  

No, the Chinese have historically chosen not to engage civil society when concerns arise abroad, and no they have tended not to push their success stories either. Though that’s now changing, it’s worth unpacking the strategy of silence that has muted Chinese PR, and explore how it’s progressing on its own trajectory. Indeed, we have seen big changes lately.