Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa
South Africa is the center of world strategic rivalry, where the United States and China use opposite soft power strategies to increase their dominance. This paper examines how these two powers use soft power to assert greater influence in South Africa, the most industrialized African country and a powerful state in BRICS. The involvement can be predominantly defined as China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, infrastructure investments and cultural diplomacy and the US with regards to the democratic government, institutional cooperation, and education. It will also look at the South African perception of the emerging U.S. China competition and how it manages to maneuver its national interests and strategic independence. The qualitative research is related to the comprehension of how this competition is formed in the orientation of South Africa foreign policy, regional leadership, and place in the changing global power system.
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Soft Power, U.S. China Competition, South Africa, BRICS, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Africa
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(1) Virda Hayyat
BS Scholar, Department of International Relations, Government College University, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Urwa Nasir
BS Scholar, Department of International Relations, Government College University, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
(3) Bilal Bin Liaqat
Assistant Professor (OPS), Department of International Relations, Government College University, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
Cite this article
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APA : Hayyat, V., Nasir, U., & Liaqat, B. B. (2026). Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa. Global Foreign Policies Review, IX(II), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.31703/gfpr.2026(IX-II).03
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CHICAGO : Hayyat, Virda, Urwa Nasir, and Bilal Bin Liaqat. 2026. "Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa." Global Foreign Policies Review, IX (II): 16-24 doi: 10.31703/gfpr.2026(IX-II).03
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HARVARD : HAYYAT, V., NASIR, U. & LIAQAT, B. B. 2026. Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa. Global Foreign Policies Review, IX, 16-24.
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MHRA : Hayyat, Virda, Urwa Nasir, and Bilal Bin Liaqat. 2026. "Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa." Global Foreign Policies Review, IX: 16-24
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MLA : Hayyat, Virda, Urwa Nasir, and Bilal Bin Liaqat. "Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa." Global Foreign Policies Review, IX.II (2026): 16-24 Print.
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OXFORD : Hayyat, Virda, Nasir, Urwa, and Liaqat, Bilal Bin (2026), "Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa", Global Foreign Policies Review, IX (II), 16-24
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TURABIAN : Hayyat, Virda, Urwa Nasir, and Bilal Bin Liaqat. "Competing for Influence: Us-China Soft Power Strategies in South Africa." Global Foreign Policies Review IX, no. II (2026): 16-24. https://doi.org/10.31703/gfpr.2026(IX-II).03