Chinese Scholars Urge Beijing to Rethink India Outreach as Public Distrust Persists

• Chinese researchers say Beijing has not won Indian public confidence despite improving official ties.

• They argue China’s India messaging is weak, overly official, and lacks long-term planning.

• India’s fragmented media landscape and nationalist discourse complicate outreach.

• The scholars recommend people-to-people exchanges and local opinion leaders.

• Mutual distrust still shadows the diplomatic thaw.

A gradual improvement in relations between the Chinese and Indian governments has not translated into stronger public goodwill toward Beijing in India, according to Chinese researchers who argue that China’s communication strategy remains underdeveloped and overly dependent on official messaging.

In a recent article, Zhou Qingan, dean of Tsinghua University’s School of Journalism, and Li Yiming, a research assistant at the school, said Beijing needs to urgently expand its bottom-up outreach efforts in India and identify areas of shared public concern. Their analysis was published in June in International Communications, a journal linked to the state-run China International Communication Group.

The researchers argued that improving China’s communication work in India would help serve Beijing’s broader strategic goals in the Global South. However, they said the current approach has significant weaknesses, including a lack of sustained planning and limited channels beyond official Chinese platforms.

According to Zhou and Li, China’s media output on India has largely centred on promoting policy positions, but this style of messaging has struggled to connect with ordinary Indian audiences. They said Beijing has also failed to sufficiently develop non-governmental voices or local opinion leaders who could help shape a more nuanced understanding of China in India.

The scholars pointed to a wide perception gap between the publics of the two countries. They noted that negative stereotypes remain visible on both sides, including anti-India sentiment on Chinese social media and a widespread view among young Indians that China poses a serious security challenge.

India’s media environment presents another obstacle. The country has a vast and highly diverse information landscape, with around 140,000 print publications and 900 television channels operating across 189 languages. Regional differences and growing demand for nationalist content have made it difficult for any external actor to communicate effectively with the Indian public, the researchers said.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in seven years last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping said border disputes should not define the broader relationship between the two Asian powers.

In June, Beijing and New Delhi intensified discussions on restoring reciprocal journalist visas, with China seeking approvals from India ahead of a possible visit by Xi later this year.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also began an official visit to China on July 27, holding talks with senior Chinese officials, including Vice-Foreign Minister Hua Chunying and Sun Haiyan, deputy head of the Communist Party’s International Department. The discussions covered political, people-to-people, and academic exchanges.

External pressure has also played a role in the diplomatic reset. US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, including possible duties on Indian-made generic medicines, has encouraged New Delhi to seek a more stable relationship with Beijing.

Zhou and Li said China should focus more on people-to-people engagement and shape its messaging around problems shared by both societies. They identified youth unemployment and uneven urban-rural development as examples of issues that could create empathy and a sense of common experience among Indian and Chinese audiences.

The researchers also recommended that Beijing work with moderate Indian media organisations, cultivate local influencers and opinion leaders, and improve the quality of China-related content on social media.

They further proposed the creation of a coordinated communication and emergency response mechanism involving multiple Chinese departments. Such a system, they said, would help Beijing manage agenda-setting, information release, and public opinion monitoring during major China-related developments.

The scholars argued that China should build narratives around the shared identity of China and India as leading voices of the Global South. They said Beijing needs to convince Indian audiences that China’s rise is not a threat to India’s interests, while also avoiding actions that force smaller South Asian countries to choose between the two powers.