In a remote corner of China, Beijing is trying to export its model by training foreign officials the Chinese way
Academy near border with Vietnam gives training such as how to ‘guide public opinion’ online and how to alleviate poverty in a ‘targeted’ way
The new Baise Executive Leadership Academy – which looks like a five-star resort nestled in the green hills of the remote Guangxi region – may not be well-known abroad, but it aspires to be part of Beijing’s strategy of exporting its development model, in this case by training foreign government officials.
Launched 18 months ago by the government of the southern region, the school has already trained 437 senior government delegates, most of them from neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar – all funded by the Chinese side.
The number of overseas trainees is tiny compared with the 16,000 Chinese officials who received training at the academy. About an hour’s drive from the border with Vietnam, it is not shy about its ambition of influencing decision-makers in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member countries.
The school, called Baise Cadre Academy in Chinese, has developed a training programme for prospective Asean trainees from day one, the purpose of which is to influence officials from Asean countries and help them “to understand China’s governance and economic development model”, Liu Xuanqi, deputy dean of the institute, told a group of journalists during a government-organised tour.
“After being trained here and communicating with each other, consensus and understanding can be reached for both sides,” Liu said. “It would definitely be helpful for the trainees when they go back to their official posts [in their own countries].”