The international renowned think tank, the Atlantic Council, pointed out in its latest report that one of the most direct ways Beijing implements authoritarian governance is by providing training programs on the Chinese Communist Party’s ruling operations to foreign government officials.
In a report titled “A Global South with Chinese characteristics” released on June 13 by Niva Yau, a visiting researcher on China’s policies towards the Global South at the “Global China Hub” of the Atlantic Council in Washington, it was revealed that the Chinese Communist Party has been exporting its totalitarian dictatorship ruling model and communist ideology to developing countries through training programs disguised as business schools, training future dictators for those countries.
Based on nearly 1,700 documents obtained from the International Business Officials Academy (AIBO) under China’s Ministry of Commerce, the report introduced that during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022, the Chinese government funded 795 online training programs for government officials from developing countries, emphasizing the crucial message of the CCP’s dictatorial control model on economic development.
Over these two years, a total of 21,123 foreign government officials participated in AIBO’s online training programs, with the number of participants ranging from 15 to 60 in each session, lasting from 1 day to 60 days.
AIBO describes itself on its website as an educational institution providing business training, conference services, human resources training, and party member training for CCP cadres under the Ministry of Commerce. The aforementioned 795 training programs were subcontracted to 111 hosting units.
Apart from the Ministry of Commerce, other Chinese government ministries also provide training programs to foreign government officials. The report stated, “In the past three years, at least 11 Chinese government ministries have offered training programs to foreign government officials, including the ministries of Commerce, Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology, Industry and Information Technology, Justice, Ecology and Environment, Culture and Tourism, National Health Commission, Emergency Management Department, International Liaison Department, and Public Security Ministry.”
According to the documents obtained in the report, three months before the scheduled training programs, the Chinese embassies in the target countries (usually emerging nations in the Global South) would be notified, and the selection and invitations of target personnel would commence. For instance, the military attaché from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security stationed at the embassy would be responsible for inviting law enforcement representatives from the target country to participate in the training programs organized by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.
These training programs provide foreign officials with “authoritarian principles in law enforcement, journalism, legal issues, space technology, and many other fields,” interpreting these topics differently from Western democratic countries based on the CCP’s authoritarian ruling operations. For instance, “law enforcement is to protect the government and the Party, not the people; journalism is to create national ‘unity and stability,’ not to balance the system; and law is to safeguard the regime, not the citizens.”
The author of the report, Niva Yau, stated that while many countries engage in international promotion through training programs and knowledge sharing, the CCP’s model is rooted in political ideology, involving centralization and authoritarian practices in political governance and economic operations.
She said, “Regardless of the topic of each training program, there are simplified and generalized language descriptions of the CCP’s ideology and organization, as well as its significant contributions to the achievements of the People’s Republic of China in that field. Even in the most niche subject areas, the training programs promote why authoritarian governance should be chosen.”
Niva Yau expressed that the goal of these training programs seems to be to make participants understand that China has succeeded in overcoming economic challenges due to its authoritarian political environment.
The report mentioned that some training programs, such as those on blockchain technology and environmental protection, although involving less ideological content, still contain strong elements of the CCP’s external propaganda efforts, actively promoting the governance model of the CCP. For example, a training course on biogas technology, rural energy, and energy saving held in June 2022 included a session on Chinese politics and foreign policy as well as its contributions in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. This session was hosted by Wang Lei, a member of the Communist Party Committee at Beijing Normal University and Deputy Dean of the Government School at the university.
AIBO also signed an agreement with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a ministerial-level institution under the State Council of China, where they organized a seminar on June 2, 2021, sharing the contents of “Xi Jinping on Governance and Administration” along with the principles and values it embodies.
According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences website, 20 senior government advisors and scholars from six countries including Pakistan, Ecuador, and Chile participated in this online “learning” seminar. One of the lecturers was Wu Bo, an expert on CCP governance and Chinese Marxist Studies from the Government School at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The Ministry of Commerce also hosted training seminars organized by China International Media Group, a subordinate of the CCP’s Publicity Department. The Chinese authorities exercise strict control over news agencies and have established a complex system of censorship to ensure that media outlets “tell the good story of China (the CCP).”
Beijing has made substantial efforts to change global perceptions of China (the CCP) by influencing overseas media to portray China positively and has also shared its advanced monitoring technologies with other countries, demonstrating how to use them for citizen surveillance and suppressing dissent.
Whether political or non-political topics, these training programs will “highlight the success of China’s (CCP) unique governance model in global governance,” and will “constantly and repeatedly remind trainees from the Global South that China’s accomplishments are attributable to the political choices of the CCP and its authoritarian governance practices.”
Countries in the Global South seem to be a crucial part of Xi Jinping’s strategy to position China as a leading force in the international “new order.”
Niva Yau said: “Undoubtedly, many countries in the Global South are eager to try out (the CCP’s governance model). We have witnessed a trend of global polarization, with China’s (CCP) alternative being adopted at the core level in (Global South countries), and the irreversible impact it generates could trap these countries into Beijing’s international authoritarian plan.”
The report mentioned that many developing countries lack the capacity to address the increasingly severe challenges they face, leading them to still “value the ‘success’ experience of China (CCP) under dictatorial rule, providing ample opportunities for China (CCP) to expand and deepen its training programs in the Global South,” but in reality, “most developing countries have a limited understanding and objective information about China (CCP) and its domestic governance methods.”
Therefore, the report calls on the United States and other democratic countries to “assist the Global South countries in cultivating and promoting authoritative professional knowledge about China (the CCP), ensuring that there are voices providing objective analysis of China (the CCP)’s domestic affairs, governance methods, and overseas activities within the local countries.”
The report concluded by stating, “Despite the clear flaws of democracy, it remains the overwhelmingly preferred governance system for the public worldwide. If citizens in Global South countries have the freedom and information to decide under what kind of government they want to live, Beijing’s efforts to promote its revisionist authoritarian rule will fail.”