China beyond China, establishing a digital order with Chinese characteristics: China's growing discursive power and the Digital Silk Road

Abstract This article examines China's discursive power, placing it in the broader context of China's increasing assertiveness in the global arena. I argue that exporting the China model farther afield is the key for China to exert its discursive power. The mechanism to do this lies in two essential and decisive auxiliaries that “flank” China's soft discursive power: technological development/innovation and the role of the Chinese private sector. Theoretically, the study adopts a tripartite framework to examine China's discursive power: power facts, shared rules, and social practices, with the help of the “affective sticking points” to analyze China's Belt and Road Initiative and Digital Silk Road discourses. Empirically, the article investigates the case of Transsion Holdings, a Chinese giant smart‐device maker in Africa, to study China's discursive influences in Africa. To conclude, I reflect on the role of the private sector and the meaning of “China beyond China.” Related Articles Duggan, Niall. 2020. “China—The Champion of the Developing World: A Study of China's New Development Model and its Role in Changing Global Economic Governance.” Politics & Policy 48(5): 836–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12377 . Fong, Ware, and Nazmus Sakib. 2021. “A ‘Good’ Country without Democracy: Can China's Outward FDI Buy a Positive State Image Overseas?” Politics & Policy 49(5): 1146–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12428 . Zeng, Jinghan, Tim Stevens, and Yaru Chen. 2017. “China's Solution to Global Cyber Governance: Unpacking the Domestic Discourse of ‘Internet Sovereignty.” Politics & Policy 45(3): 432–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12202 .