Social Media Geopolitics: The ‘Unofficial Geopolitics’ of Chinese Vloggers in Pakistan

The 10 videos we examine below, like most videos on Douyin, are edited prior to posting but are still of amateur quality. Nevertheless, their videos are impactful; with likes per video reaching 1.582 million, 75,000 comments, and 17,000 reposts. The 10 videos range in length from 1 minute and 37 seconds to 9 minutes and 54 seconds. The vloggers include 9 different men and 1 woman. All the encounters in the posts between the Chinese vloggers and local Pakistanis are orchestrated to some degree, even though the vlogger often tries to make them appear as unscripted and accidental. All the interactions are mediated by Pakistani guides who speak Chinese, English, and Urdu. The camera is either in the hands of the vlogger or the local guide, and never the Pakistani local. In other words, the Chinese vloggers are the protagonists and producers of the videos and the Pakistani locals are their objects of interest. Friendship The staging of friendship between the Chinese vloggers and Pakistani citizens is a central theme in all 10 videos. Pakistanis are typically friendly and welcoming towards the vloggers - whether on the street, in a market, or in their home. The Chinese vloggers typically express keen interest in the lives of the Pakistanis they meet. Often, the vloggers use the phrase “Long Live China-Pakistan Friendship” as well as the term “iron brother” during their interactions with Pakistanis. The vloggers commonly speak to the camera to reflect on the friendly relationships they have with the Pakistanis they’ve met; which often includes telling the viewer that these personal friendships are akin to the strong relationship between China and Pakistan. The friendships that are spotlighted in the posts are, however, uneven and paternalistic. The vloggers are the subjects of the posts who narrate their experiences, while the Pakistanis are the objects of vloggers’ gaze and are typically positioned as dirty, impoverished, and needing the help of the Chinese vlogger. Indeed, the vloggers often demonstrate their friendliness towards their new Pakistani friends through acts of largess, for example, by buying them groceries, a meal, shoes, or a haircut.

In the video that we noted in the introduction, a 30-year-old Chinese vlogger begins his post by showcasing several wealthy Pakistani homes in a neighborhood in Islamabad that he is visiting. The camera then pans to the street where a middle-aged Pakistani man, who is wearing a grey salwar kameez (a traditional Pakistani dress), is walking towards him. The Pakistani stranger is extending a gesture of kindness and friendship by offering the Chinese vlogger an orange. The vlogger tells his audience that “I was given an orange just because he saw that I am Chinese.” The vlogger continues that “He’s so friendly to Chinese people … and I must live up to this friendship.” The vlogger, after asking for the name of the Pakistani man, and then failing to pronounce his name in Urdu, decides to refer to him using the term Tie Zhu, which is similar in meaning to that of “iron brother.” The vlogger then asks the man he calls Tie Zhu if he can visit his home. The two new friends walk together to the Pakistani man’s home (which seems rather staged but is portrayed as unplanned). The vlogger is surprised to discover that Tie Zhu and his family live in a tent, which stands in stark contrast to the wealthy homes he was just showcasing. The Pakistani’s home and lifestyle is now on stage, including his poor, dirty, and innocent looking children. The vlogger expresses concern for the well-being of Tie Zhu’s family, especially the children. Motivated to help this poor Pakistani family, the vlogger decides to purchase groceries for the family. The camera then follows the vlogger to a local store where he purchases several bags of food. One item the vlogger buys for his new friend is a large bag of oranges (Figure 4). In addition to providing some sustenance to the family, the bag of oranges is symbolic in that the vlogger is giving back exponentially what he was given by the Pakistani man earlier while on the street. The vlogger returns to their home to present the family with these groceries. Then, at the end of the video, the vlogger emphasises the significance of the China-Pakistan friendship and tells his Douyin followers to support his endeavour to help Tie Zhu and his family. Lastly, the vlogger say the phrase “Long Live the China Pakistan friendship” in Chinese and Tie Zhu repeats it in Urdu.

Figure 4 – Vlogger gifting groceries, including a large bag of oranges, to a Pakistani family he just befriended. In another video, a Chinese man in his early 30s is driving around Lahore when he suddenly notices a symbol of the China-Pakistan friendship painted on a concrete wall under a bridge. The symbol is of a Chinese and a Pakistani flag adjacent to one another. To the vlogger’s disappointment, the flag-painting is visibly dirty. He stops and explains to the camera that the Chinese flag represents his country and he is disappointed to find it dirty, with what looks like copious amounts of bird faeces. Determined to clean the entire symbol, but most importantly and firstly the Chinese flag, the vlogger finds a ladder, a sponge, and some water. Seemingly unexpectedly, three young Pakistani men in their early and mid-twenties - dressed in work-clothes - approach him, inquiring about his nationality and what he is doing. At first, the vlogger doesn’t pay much attention to them, and they leave; but they soon return with their own sponges, brushes, and buckets of soapy water. They offer to help the vlogger clean this symbol of the Chinese and Pakistani relationship. The vlogger happily agrees to work with these men and as the day progresses, evidenced by the change from daylight to night, the group of new friends have completed their work and made the flags anew. The vlogger is delighted with the Pakistanis’ help, their friendliness towards him, and for respecting China’s national flag. He invites them to lunch at a nearby McDonald's, an offer they accept, and then the group eats together with the vlogger paying the bill. The video concludes with three of vlogger’s new Pakistani friends standing in a row and the vlogger awkwardly giving each one of the workers a hug. The vlogger then reflects on his experience with these Pakistani men and states that, “I came to understand even more what iron brothers mean and what China-Pakistan friendship is [...].” The vlogger then wishes for the enduring friendship between China and Pakistan and concludes the video by saying, “Bless you, my Batie friends! May our friendship last forever.” Positive energy Positive Energy is another major theme in the Chinese vloggers’ videos. Again, Positive Energy encourages Chinese nationals to actively contribute to the betterment of oneself and the world by maintaining a positive, uplifting attitude and engaging in action that can help propel positivity (C. Zhang 2022). Vloggers on Douyin have drawn on the idea and enactment of Positive Energy to such a large degree that Douyin features a trending section that promotes videos focusing on spreading Positive Energy (X. Chen, Valdovinos Kaye, and Zeng 2021). The term “positive energy” is explicitly stated in four out of ten videos in our sample, but it is enacted in all ten of them. Specifically, vloggers use the positive energy discourse when they assert that the challenging situations of Pakistani life can be improved. Vloggers often encourage their viewers to show compassion for the hardships faced by poor Pakistanis. Some vloggers highlight that education and employment will lead to a better future, some stress finding joy in simple things in life, and others express admiration for the strong work ethic of Pakistanis that may lead to their betterment. The vloggers often comment that their own goodwill toward Pakistanis can propel positive energy. Several of the vloggers end their posts by highlighting that there is much joy and warmth in the world, which is something that they just demonstrated through their videos.

For example, a Chinese man in his late thirties posted a video in which he begins by recognizing the close, friendly connections between China and Pakistan. He zooms in on a Chinese flag that is flying close to a Pakistani flag to illustrate his point. He then pans to a village and refers to the villagers as BaTie (iron brothers). The majority of his post, however, emphasises the workings of positive energy. He explains that when he wakes up in the morning, the children in this village are already up, working hard on their chores and getting ready for school. He is particularly impressed by this because, as he explains, the weather is very hot and because the villagers do not have modern conveniences that would make their lives easier. A bit later in the video, he films a villager with a broken axe. He explains that it broke because the villagers work so hard. The broken axe symbolises the resilience and strength of the villagers in the face of adversity. The vlogger also highlights the simplicity and beauty of life in the village. He records part of a sunset, pointing out the evening glow on both the east and west sides of the village, which he refers to as a blessing. He concludes by sharing a clip of his Pakistani friends dancing, and notes that they have the courage and determination to overcome difficulties in life. The vlogger encourages his audience to keep working hard and to work together to change the future. He ends by saying: “every day we are working hard to change… brave villagers are not afraid of difficulties… Come on, change and fight again tomorrow.” He ends by giving a thumbs-up to nearby Chinese and Pakistani flags flying in a ramshackled landscape. The text on the screen says “don’t be afraid of difficulties” (Figure 5).

Figure 5, ‘Don’t be afraid of difficulties’

In another video, a young male vlogger is sitting at an outdoor restaurant, enjoying his food. He notices an old Pakistani man who is collecting trash nearby. The Pakistani man, who is wearing tattered clothes and dirty shoes, walks toward the food counter, stares at a burger being cooked, and then asks a man at the counter for a free burger. The owner of the burger stand refuses to give the old man a burger. The Chinese vlogger is upset by the owner’s reactions to the poor man. He gets up to intervene and explains to the owner that the old man will be his guest. Then, the vlogger orders a burger for the man and pays for it. The old man and the vlogger sit together and the older man begins eating quickly. The vlogger encourages him to slow down and enjoy the meal, but then realises that he is starving. As he eats, the old man says, “Chinese good people, Chinese good good people.” After the meal, the Chinese vlogger offers to give the old man a ride home, but the Pakistani man is worried that he will dirty the car. Yet, the vlogger insists on giving him a ride and reassures the man that he is not worried about the car. After dropping the man off at his home, which is in dire condition, the vlogger reflects on the challenges that people experience globally and stresses that with positive actions, like the one he just demonstrated, that individuals and society can be improved. He tells the camera that “all people face difficulties at times. And this old man's situation resonates with me. I hope to contribute my own efforts to ensure that those who are struggling are treated equally.”

National Rejuvenation In tandem with friendship and positive energy, the video posts in our sample recirculate the idea that China and Chinese people are strong, powerful, and prosperous, which stems directly from the Chinese National Rejuvenation discourse. Several vloggers focus on their love of the Chinese nation, of being patriotic, and of defending their “motherland.” In the video discussed above in the section on “friendship,” in which the vlogger is helped by Pakistanis in cleaning the painted image of the Chinese and Pakistani flags, the vlogger is motivated by his national pride and desire to clean the Chinese flag. While friendship is a powerful theme in that post, so too is National Rejuvenation. Indeed, at the end of the video he reflects and tells his audience that “I believe that every compatriot living in a foreign country would neither want nor allow any dirty things on our national flag.”

There is another video in which the vlogger focuses on the Chinese flag. In this video, the Chinese vlogger notices that someone is using his country’s flag as protective covering for a parked motorcycle. He expresses his discomfort about this to the camera, stating that he does not want his national flag to be used in this inappropriate manner. The man then asks the camera whether the motorcycle owner respects China. He looks around for the owner of the motorcycle and inquires about it at a nearby shop. The vlogger engages in a heated conversation with a Pakistani man in the shop, explaining that the cover on the motorcycle is a Chinese flag and that using it in that manner is disrespectful to China. Unable to find the owner of the motorcycle, he decides to remove the flag, but out of respect to the motorcycle owner, he purchases a new cover at a nearby shop. At this shop, there are several covers for him to choose from, but in a gesture of his wealth, he buys the most expensive one. He then returns to the motorcycle, removes the Chinese flag, folds it with great care, and replaces it with the new cover he just bought (Figure 6). The motorcycle owner is still not present, but four Pakistanis dressed in salwar kameez watch him as he performs this act. The onlookers then approach him and reach out to touch the flag. The Chinese vlogger refuses their attempt to touch the Chinese flag, yet accepts their help in covering the motorcycle with the new cover.

Figure 6, Folding the Chinese flag As the vlogger folds the flag, a popular Chinese nationalist song plays, which includes the lyrics: “Five-star red flag, you are my pride. Five-star red flag, I am proud of you. Cheering for you, I bless you. Your name is more important than my life.” Then, the vlogger hands some money to a Pakistani man dressed in a clean salwar kameez. Although the Chinese vlogger in this video is less friendly than others, he still ends on a positive note, emphasizing the friendship between Pakistan and China. In fact, he concludes the video by saying “May China Pakistan friendship live forever.”