The development of Chinese soft power in Central Asia – opportunities and challenges

The article presents analysis of the development of China’s soft power in Central Asia. Since 2005, China has been trying to promote Chinese language and culture in Central Asia. Institutes of Confucius began to appear in the region. There are currently 13 of them. More and more youth from this region are learning Chinese. They also go to China to study at Chinese universities. Learning Chinese language increases the prospects of professional development and employment for people from the region. However, China still has a long way to achieve a satisfactory level of promoting its culture in the region. There are accusations that Beijing wants to train the Central Asian elites in line with the Chinese model. Central Asian states are, however, particularly sensitive to their cultural heritage. Cultural independence is among the foreign policy priorities of these countries. Beijing should continue to increase efforts to create a positive image in the countries of the region. The new Silk Road is becoming an important element of diplomacy to promote Chinese soft power.

Determinants of Consumer Behavior of Chinese Society in an Interdisciplinary Perspective

The article aims to show that there are determinants of consumer behavior in Chinese society that remain relevant regardless of the direction of global social changes - caused by the digital transformation of society and economy, the development of artificial intelligence and unexpected events such as pandemics. The factors influencing consumption in China undoubtedly include culture, politics, as well as macroeconomic factors influencing the level and pace of consumption development. It is worth analyzing consumer behavior using interdisciplinary knowledge and bearing in mind the complex and diverse changes taking place on a national scale, and the emergence of new terminology is a reflection of the changing specificity of consumption in China.
Awareness of the dynamics of changes in the behavior of Chinese consumers will not only facilitate business relations with Chinese contractors, but will also help determine the direction of consumption development at the global level, as the possibilities of e-commerce developing in China are also used and tested in Europe.

Close relationships with all members of the market environment are now widely accepted by academics and practitioners as an excellent way of creating a sustainable, competitive advantage. However, views on exactly which activities constitute the essence of market relationships may differ significantly in various cultural contexts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of Chinese culture on market relationship creation, focusing on specific guanxi networks with closely related indigenous cultural aspects, such as renqing, lian, mianzi, xinren and xinyong, in order to reveal their implications for the functioning of foreign companies in China. An emic approach was predominantly implemented in this analysis, in addition to a polemic on the commonly used assessment methods of culture impact that is based on Western evaluation and bipolar culture dimensions. The information presented is based on research carried out on thirty-eight cases of Polish companies in China that used a semi-structured interview technique with individual managers directly responsible for operations in this market. It is reinforced with a broad literature overview and many years of the author’s direct observations. In addition, some practical recommendations and further research are suggested.