Efficacy of China’s Soft Power in Nigeria: Impact of Personal Engagement and Media Exposure on Lagos Residents’ Attitude Towards China

Although the budding Sino-African relations has drawn enormous attention in the media and the academia, there is little empirical understanding about the acculturation of Chinese values and the effectiveness of China’s soft power in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria. This article investigates the cognitive, affective, and behavioural intentions of Lagos residents (Lagosians) towards China. Based on Nye’s conceptualisation of soft power, a theoretical model was developed to explore how engagement with China’s soft power instruments and media exposure to Sino-African-related information influence Lagosians’ attitudes towards China on the three attitudinal levels. Findings from a clustered random survey (n = 624) drawn from Lagos residents reveal that their attitudes and behavioural intentions towards China are multidimensional and majorly predicted by their personal experience (engagement with China’s presence) and their second-hand experience (exposure to China-related news in local media), rather than by the intensity and tenacity of China’s diplomatic strategies in the country.