China's cultural diplomacy towards ASEAN: a case study of Confucius Institutes

China has increasingly engaged in cultural diplomacy as a means to establish and strengthen its presence and soft power in the ASEAN region. The Confucius Institutes (CIs) function as a major vehicle for promoting Chinese language and culture there, as part of China’s broader soft power strategy. This paper explores China’s cultural diplomacy efforts in ASEAN through case studies of Confucius Institutes in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The distribution of in ASEAN is notably uneven. Indonesia, despite being the largest country in ASEAN by population and GDP, has only 8 CIs. The Philippines, the second most populous ASEAN nation, has only 5 CIs, mostly in the Luzon area. Vietnam has made no progress beyond its first CI established in 2014. In stark contrast, Thailand, with less than 11% of ASEAN’s population, hosts nearly half of the region’s CIs. This uneven distribution indicates that bilateral relations between ASEAN countries and China seems to affect the establishment of Confucius Institutes to a certain extent.The findings underscore the approaches taken by Confucius Institutes in accordance with the contexts and needs in each ASEAN country. In Thailand, the CIs integrate traditional and contemporary cultural exchange, emphasizing professional courses and language education to strengthen Chinese cultural elements in Thai society. In Indonesia, these CIs focus on Chinese language courses, cultural workshops, and teacher training programs aimed to enhance the Indonesian people’s interest in and understanding of Chinese culture. The Philippines sees Confucius Institutes as a key to the developing of Chinese language education in higher education, whereby partnerships with local schools and community organizations have been forged to provide specific Chinese language courses and cultural events, embedding Chinese language courses into the Philippine education system. Vietnam’s Confucius Institutes place importance on traditional cultural activities while providing language courses, building educational and cultural connections aimed to deepen bilateral relations between China and Vietnam.