Around 60-65 mio. ethnic Chinese are living outside China and probably making up the largest diaspora in the world. Potentially an invaluable resource for China, but how does the Chinese government tap and embrace this resource and for what types of political outcomes? This presentation will analyse recent diaspora policies and unveil political strategies employed by the Chinese government to strengthen Chinese soft power abroad by employing the Chinese diaspora as political tools. I will discuss how the Chinese government actively reaches beyond its own borders to influence ethnic associations, schools and media of the Chinese diaspora to strengthen political influence abroad

Mette Thunø is Associate Professor in China Studies at the Department of Global Studies at Aarhus University and Honorary Professor at Jinan University, Guangzhou. She is also former vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities at University of Copenhagen and dean of the Faculty of Arts at Aarhus University. Mette Thunø has researched extensively on Chinese migration to Europe and diaspora policies in the People’s Republic of China as well as on intercultural competence in Danish companies operating in Asia. Email: mettethunoe@au.dk. Webpage: http://au.dk/mettethunoe@au.dk