China’s Arabic Satellite Channel: Emerging Inter-Asian Connection, Rebuilding a New Silk Road Station?

Abstract :

This presentation explores the Chinese Arabic international channel which was officially launched by the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) in July 2009. Among various Arabic satellite channels, CCTV Arabic aims distinctly at reviving the primordial imagination of a Silk Road connection between the Arab world and China. This presentation discusses the role of CCTV as an ideological forerunner in legitimizing China’s increasing involvement in the Arab world and as an emerging superpower. On one hand, CCTV Arabic defends the official image of China to the Arab Street by countering the distorted views espoused by foreign media. On the other hand, CCTV Arabic fosters China-Arab ties by respecting diversity of civilizations which is the underlying foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in strengthening China’s international influence in the contemporary multi-polar world.

Speaker :

Dr HO Wai Yip is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences (SSC) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He has been a Sir Edward Youde Fellow. Before joining Hong Kong Institute of Education, he was a Visiting Scholar at Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (2005-2006), Fellow of Institute of Advanced Study in the Humanities, Essen, Germany (Summer 2006) and the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies (IAIS), University of Exeter, UK (2001-2002). He has also taught at City University of Hong Kong, University of Macau and Hong Kong Shue Yan University. Being a Christian Sociologist in Islamic Studies, he is particularly concerns about the Muslim Societies in general and the future Christian-Muslim relations in China. His publications and main research interests focus on Islamic Studies, Ethnography and Social Theory.