Expert Bio

Igor Patrick is a journalist and sinologist specialising in Chinese state-owned media. He holds a master's degree in China Studies (Politics and International Relations) from the Yenching Academy at Peking University and a second one in Global Affairs from the Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University. He is dedicated to understanding the impact and effectiveness of China's media strategy in developing countries, particularly in Latin America and Africa. In recent years, he has published stories and articles in media outlets such as The HuffPost, The Diplomat, RIA Novosti, CBN, and especially Folha de S. Paulo, where he has covered Chinese affairs weekly since 2020.

Expertise

• Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
• Democracy
• Global Governance
• Human Rights

Wilson Center Project

Winning Hearts and Minds: China’s Propaganda Strategy in Latin America

Project Summary

This project aims to identify new strategies to promote Chinese state media in Latin America, measuring their impact and possible goals. It has become common to study the expansion of media outlets such as CGTN, CRI, Xinhua, Global Times, and others in recent years. However, this research is focused on other aspects of China's so-called "going global" policy: promoting Chinese influencers in local languages to target specific audiences, advertising deals with content creators, buying local media or content-sharing partnerships, etc. All these aspects constitute a gap in media studies in Latin America and are essential to understanding how China projects its soft power beyond traditional spheres of influence.

Major Publications

• https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/latin-america-used-to-be-positive-toward-china-covid-19-might-change-that/
• https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/online-articles/chinas-stakes-venezuela-are-too-high-be-ignored