Increasing reports of academic and cultural exchanges between China and Iran indicate that China is pursuing an active public diplomacy in Iran.

On Sept. 29, Wang Jisi, the president of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University, visited Iran’s Islamic Azad University and met with its chairman, Ali Akbar Velayati. Both sides reiterated the significance of Iran-China academic exchanges and agreed to establish a joint research institute. On Oct. 5, the head of China’s state broadcaster met with his Iranian counterpart, Abdulali Ali-Asgari, and called for expanding bilateral relations.

It seems that there are headlines on similar meetings on an almost daily basis in Iranian news outlets. However, the critical question is whether China’s measures to capture the imagination of the Iranian people and build a positive image of itself as a rising power is effective and appropriate given its ever-increasing economic and geopolitical ties with Iran.

China’s public diplomacy has four pillars: the Confucius Institute, academic exchanges, international broadcasting by state-affiliated media and tourism. Modeled after Alliance Francaise and Germany's Goethe-Institut, the Confucius Institute is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the government of China to promote Chinese language and culture. It is considered the crown of China’s public diplomacy, with around 500 centers around the globe, 135 of which are in Belt and Road Initiative countries. However, Iran is only home to one such institute, compared with four in Pakistan, four in Turkey and 17 in France.