Sharp Power: China’s Solution to Maintaining the Legitimacy of its Non-Interference Policy

This paper addresses how China’s use of sharp power has become the method with which to maintain its policy of non-interference. Firstly, I will briefly discuss the history of China’s non-interference policy and how its quest to become a major responsible power has led to its use of new influence methods abroad. Secondly, I will analyze the new influence methods, which have been described as sharp power, used by the Chinese Communist Party to exert political influence in the world today. In addition, I will highlight the main departments within the Chinese Communist Party responsible for influencing narratives abroad and the strategies used by each department. Lastly, I will use Australia and Argentina as case studies to detail how the Chinese Communist Party uses sharp power methods within these countries. I outline China’s strategy as something demanding greater international attention but not at the risk of creating paranoia or encouraging nations to sever ties with China.