bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Julia Hollingsworth

China appears to have embarked on a mission to win over the young Western generation on its “Belt and Road Initiative”, after selling the global trade and infrastructure development project to state leaders around the world.
In a series of English-language propaganda videos released on YouTube this week, state-run China Daily tries to explain President Xi Jinping’s ambitious trade plan that seeks to connect more than 60 countries across three continents.
Comment: Time for China to come clean on its goals for ‘Belt and Road Initiative’
The release of the videos – which are targeted at young English-speaking children – comes ahead of the two-day belt and road summit that begins in Beijing this Sunday. YouTube is blocked on mainland China.
In one of the videos, published on Tuesday, children, apparently from the belt and road countries, sing in praise of the trade initiative.


“The promise that they hold is joint prosperity,” sings a girl to a cutesy, Sesame Street-style guitar riff in the two-minute clip. “We’re breaking barriers, we’re making history. The world we’re dreaming of starts with you and me.”
A chorus of children dressed in white then chime in, in front of a colourful animated background: “The future is coming now, the belt and road is how.”
All you need to know about China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’: what is it, who’s paying, who’ll benefit and who might lose out
The clip was produced by Fuxing Road Studios, the production company behind other slick English-language propaganda pieces, including an upbeat 2015 video explaining China’s Five-Year Plan, which made international news.

The children’s choir clip came a day after another – the first episode of China Daily’s Belt and Road Bedtime Stories series – was published.
In that clip, five-year-old Lily’s father Erik Nilsson explains the trade initiative to her in the form of a bedtime story. Subtitles are shown in both English and Chinese.
“Once upon a time, several routes led from China, to central Asia, to Europe,” begins Nilsson, a China Daily journalist. “It was called the Silk Road.”


In later episodes, Nilsson tells his daughter how the belt and road will be financed, and compares it to her piggy bank.
The series of videos have been met with lukewarm response online, with one Facebook user calling the Fuxing Road Studio music clip “cheesy imperialist propaganda”.
“So sweet and innocent until the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) comes along the belt and road to impose Beijing’s interests. No more dancing kids then!” wrote another.
How Trump gave China’s ‘Belt and Road’ scheme a boost
Chinese Weibo users were more positive, calling the music video “cute” – although some questioned why the song was in English.
“We aren’t foreign children,” one user wrote.

This is not the first time China has had a Silk Road-related branding issue – it recently changed the initiative’s official English name from “One Belt, One Road” to “Belt and Road Initiative”.
While many countries have embraced the plan, some Western nations have been hesitant about Beijing’s motives and growing influence around the world.
Top leaders from at least 29 countries are set to attend the summit this weekend, but only one G7 leader is expected to show – Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.


India and Sri Lanka set to sign defence pact amid China’s rising regional clout

China nominates Zou Jiayi to be the next president of the AIIB

China woos the neighbours, with Xi Jinping said to be planning 3-country tour in April

AIKEYME in action: India counters China with African naval outreach

Belt and Road Initiative

‘Belt and Road’ for kids: Are these videos China’s latest bid to win over young Western generation?

A two-minute music video clip about China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. Photo: Handout

(CAPTURE PICTURE) China released two English-language propaganda videos this week explaining President Xi JinpingÕs ambitious trade plan(Belt and Road) to connect 65 countries across three continents. 12MAY17 PICTURE : HANDOUT

‘Belt and Road’ for kids: Are these videos China’s latest bid to win over young Western generation?

nproxy.org