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Welcome to the Digital China: From Cultural Presence To Innovative Nation, 2017-2019 Australian Research Council Discovery Project

While China claims to have the world’s oldest continuous civilisation, its economic influence on the global stage far exceeds its cultural cachet (aka soft power), much to the consternation of government officials and millions of patriotic citizens on the mainland. Millions of people living outside the mainland of Chinese heritage are equally patriotic, identifying with the much heralded national ‘rejuvenation’, known as the Chinese Dream. Over the past decade the government has assisted Chinese culture to go global. Despite this assistance, global consumption of culture remains dominated by powerful Western transnational companies, by western stories and by Hollywood studios. 

Enter China’s digital platforms. Can commercial internet and technology companies succeed in this national quest for rejuvenation and recognition as an innovative nation? With the unveiling in 2015 of a policy blueprint called Internet+, companies like BaiduAlibabaTencent and Wandawere given a new license to internationalise, and potentially more freedom to work with foreign partners. How are these new relationships reshaping the global media industries and their digital presence?

THE LEAD TEAM

Michael Keane (Curtin University)
Brian Yecies (University of Wollongong)
Haiqing Yu (RMIT University)
Susan Leong (Curtin University)
Elaine Zhao (University of New South Wales)

Michael Keane

Michael Keane

Prof Michael Keane is currently a research professor of Chinese Media in the Department of Internet Studies in the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts at Curtin University. He…

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Brian Yecies

Brian Yecies

Dr Brian Yecies is a Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media at the University of Wollongong. He researches and teaches on transnational film and digital media with an emphasis on…

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Haiqing Yu

Haiqing Yu

Dr. Haiqing Yu is Associate Professor and Vice-Chancellor’s Principal Research Fellow in the School of Media and Communication, RMIT University. Haiqing’s research covers two broad areas: media and communication studies;…

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Elaine Zhao

Elaine Zhao

Elaine Zhao is currently a Lecturer at the School of the Arts and Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales. She is an…

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Susan Leong

Susan Leong

Chief Investigator

Dr Susan Leong is currently Senior Lecturer in Digital Media and Communication, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University, Malaysia. She is an emerging scholar in the field of…

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