Today, a lot of discussion centers on how much economic power, political influence, and international competitiveness the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has achieved in the international marketplace in just a few decades. Culturally, such power in the international marketplace also begs the questions of how much influence China is likely to have moving forward, and what this means for China’s influence culturally around the world. So far, other powerful countries in the world have focused on China’s economic influence, but what about the country’s influence on culture?
China, along with India, Brazil, and Russia, form the so-called BRIC countries (an acronym formulated using their initial letters), which have been viewed as the business engines of tomorrow (especially China and India), based on their immense economic potential. The BRICs, which cover a quarter of the world’s landmass and contain 40 percent of its population, had a combined GDP of $20 trillion in 2001. Today, these increasingly market-oriented economies boast a GDP of $37 trillion (or 22 percent of global GDP), a figure forecast to reach $120 trillion by 2050. Together, they control more than 43 percent of the world’s currency reserves ($4 trillion) and 20 percent of its trade. Is it too simplistic and naïve to think that the BRIC countries–especially China and Russia–only have a focus on economic power? Clearly, Russia has engaged in at least some political activities that have had tremendous global effects (e.g., election meddling).
And what about China? Many reports and investigations suggest the country is likewise engaged in political meddling.
Does that affect culture around the world also?
The BRIC countries’ economic size and population were the simplistic starting point to group them as powerful marketplaces—to export products to, and to buy products from. These datapoints led former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill to first coin the acronym BRIC to highlight the immense collective economic potential of these four emerging markets. However, despite many countries’ and companies’ enthusiasm for increased global interaction and economic exchange with the BRIC economies, especially China and India, many have found that cultural differences hinder their ability to conduct business in these countries. Not only is the culture different between each BRIC country and most of the globe’s remaining 191 countries, but the business and societal cultures within the BRIC countries are also vastly different from each other.
Plus, the outlook for the BRICs may not be as positive as we have been led to believe anyway. For example, the structural transformation of China (the main driver of the BRICs) from an export-driven economy to one relying more on domestic consumption, has added some woes. The likelihood is that the trend of annual increases of exports to China from much of the developed world will also slow down. We will see trade increases, nevertheless, just not as significantly as in the past decade. China is a gigantic market that we must pay attention to, of course. China is beginning to also influence the world’s culture outwardly. Economics still drive China’s global operations, albeit with an eye toward also influencing the international marketplace in such a way that it favors China—both in its home market and abroad.

For example, China is still trying to implement the “one country, two systems” approach—a constitutional principle formulated by Deng Xiaoping—which involves how to merge mainland China with Hong Kong and Macau. With Xi Jinping president of China for the foreseeable future as a function of his de facto lifetime appointment when term limits were removed in 2018, China’s political infrastructure is unlikely to change much. Consequently, China’s culture at home and how it handles business issues abroad is unlikely to change much as well. Beyond Hong Kong and Macau, Taiwan presents an even bigger ongoing structural, legal, and cultural challenge for China. While Hong Kong and Macau mostly fall in line within China’s basic parameters, Taiwan does not.
Hong Kong, a business port located off the southeast coast of China in eastern Asia, traces its history to the Old Stone Age, and really became entrenched in today’s infrastructure with its inclusion into the Chinese empire during the Qin dynasty (221–206 b.c.). However, Hong Kong was a self-governing British colony from 1841 to 1997, at which time it became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (on July 1, 1997), pursuant to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Throughout this colonial era, Hong Kong’s citizens developed a distinctive “Hong Kong identity.” To this day, the cultural differences between mainland China and Hong Kong are often pronounced, and whenever mainland China tries to assert its influence, their relationship becomes more contentious. The sentiment in Hong Kong is that it needs to be recognized as having a unique culture and a “national identity.” Hong Kong is often, in many ways, at odds with mainland China in this way, and periodic clashes flare.

Questions

1. When Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill coined the acronym BRIC in 2001 to refer to Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the focus was to highlight the immense collective economic potential of these countries. Since that time, China and Russia have influenced the international marketplace in political ways as well. How do you think these four countries—or a subset of them—will likely influence the world’s cultures in the next 10 years?
2. Anyone who has been to Hong Kong typically says it is different from mainland China, more like Singapore, albeit with a strong connection to China. Do you think Hong Kong will become more like China in the next few years, or will China leverage Hong Kong as an asset to engage more capitalistically in the international marketplace instead?
3. Macau was under Portuguese influence until 1999, which is not that long ago. Many in Macau welcomed the Chinese takeover so that the area could be better taken care of (e.g., infrastructure, economy). But being part of 

the Portuguese administration from 1887 to 1999 clearly has imbued their cultural values and beliefs in the mindset of Macau’s citizens. How are these values and beliefs likely to influence the Macau–China relationship in the years to come?
4. Taiwan maintains diplomatic relations with some 76 member states of the United Nations (19 in an official capacity and 57 in an unofficial capacity). The nation’s culture is a blend of Confucianist Han Chinese and Taiwanese aboriginal influences. How would you handle the link between China and Taiwan—culturally, economically, and politically?