On the Development of the Chinese Tourism Diplomacy from the later 1990s to 2020

Abstract

The paper presents a brief review of Chinese tourism diplomacy from the second half of the 1990s and describe the contribution of tourism to the national economy and poverty reduction. Linkages between tourism and domestic and foreign policies of China are also examined. The author traces the evolution of state and non-state tourism management systems and describe the objectives and forms of tourism diplomacy and its legal framework. China’s participation in specialised organisations on tourism is examined, and its contribution to international cooperation on tourism and sustainable tourism development is described. The author concludes that growing tourism exchanges in the late 1990s and legislative changes increased the numbers of tourists and made tourism a tool for China’s diplomacy and foreign policy and an instrument for building its soft power and international prestige. For the fi rst time in 2015, China moved tourism from the periphery to the centre of its international activity. The COVID-19 pandemic created a new situation for the pursuit of diplomacy through tourism, calling for new research into its mechanisms, and conceptual and institutional framework. The theme of diplomacy through tourism in China is new to Belarusian historiography.