Perceptions Of China Research Articles

National Dependence and Public Perceptions: Understanding the Economic Determinants of Foreign Policy Preferences Toward China

The relationship between economic dependence and foreign influence has become an increasingly prominent topic in International Relations. However, academic studies and public discussion largely overlook that dependence could influence not only states’ official policies but also the foreign policy preferences of their populations. In addition, they simplistically assume that material dependence directly establishes influence without considering additional complexities brought on by actors’ perceptions of such realities. This could lead to misunderstandings regarding the mechanisms through which economic dependence leads to foreign influence. The problem is especially glaring in relation to China, whose economic clout has been argued to represent a key vector of its global influence. This article studies how economic dependence shapes the foreign policy preferences of populations around the world and, thereby, constitutes a vector of China’s international influence. We use novel public opinion data from more than 79,000 respondents in 54 countries to clarify the relative weight of material economic realities and public perceptions of them in shaping foreign policy preferences toward China. In doing so, we also establish the relative extent to which individuals base their preferences on an egoistic or sociotropic sense of economic self-interest. Our results illustrate that perceptions outweigh economic realities in shaping preferences on China. Furthermore, economic dependence has no uniform effects on national populations, suggesting that its effects are primarily expressed through egotropic ways. Our results suggest that the disconnect between perceptions of China’s economic importance and material realities needs to be closely considered when studying China’s international influence.

东盟中文学习者画作中的中文教师角色：基于隐喻的分析

<p>With the implementation and promotion of the "Belt and Road" initiative, economic and trade cooperation and humanistic exchanges between China and ASEAN are going deeper, and Chinese language education in ASEAN has shown a booming development. As a core participant of international Chinese language education in the region, the role of Chinese language teachers is an important conceptual source of ASEAN youth's perception of China, which has a crucial impact on Chinese language learners. Based on the creation of visual metaphors, this study uses the teacher metaphor analysis framework to summarize the ASEAN Chinese teacher role metaphor categories and explore the ASEAN Chinese teacher traits from the learners' perspective. We selected 60 graphic works created by ASEAN Chinese learners as the research material, extracted 31 Chinese teacher role metaphors, and delineated six metaphorical conceptual categories. This study aims to arouse the attention of international Chinese teacher educators, social organizations, and Chinese teachers themselves to the developmental changes of Chinese teacher roles, and to provide a reference for the professional development of international Chinese teachers.</p>

Cambodia’s Perceptions of China

Cambodia has been portrayed as the most pro-China country in Southeast Asia. We argue that such views oversimplify and overgeneralize Cambodia’s agency and its perception of China. Acknowledging the multifaceted nature of Cambodians’ perceptions of China, we examined these perceptions using data from our extensive survey in the capital city and 11 provinces. We identify several key factors influencing these perceptions, which vary significantly across regions and groups. The data indicate a multifaceted and evolving relationship between Cambodia and China. While Cambodia’s economic growth and Chinese investments have strengthened ties between the two nations, it is crucial to recognize the diversity of perceptions among Cambodians. Policymakers and stakeholders in both Cambodia and China should consider these nuances to foster mutually beneficial partnerships.

Enhancing China's image in Africa: The role of the Belt and Road Initiative

Growing distrust makes it challenging for countries to retain positive reputations and images worldwide. Employing data from the eighth round of the Afrobarometer and the multiperiod difference-in-differences (DID) method, this paper examines how China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) affects its image in Africa. This study reveals that the BRI can significantly improve China's image among Africans. It affects Africans' perceptions of China's image in a highly heterogeneous manner. The BRI boosts China's image by increasing foreign direct investment, foreign aid, trade, and cultural communication with Africa. Moreover, domestic mainstream public attention and public praise and criticism can mitigate the BRI's impact on Africans' perceptions of China. These findings highlight the importance of economic cooperation and media portrayal in forming a country's image. Additionally, the paper offers suggestions for both China and Africa to build a high-quality BRI, thus improving their bilateral economic cooperation.

An Exploration of China’s Image Perception, Influencing Factors and Communication Strategies from a Latin American Perspective — An Empirical Study Based on the 2001–2023 Latin American Barometer

The world is undergoing a great change that has not been seen in a 100 years, and the international situation and international pattern are changing profoundly. In order to promote China’s “going out” and explore China–Latin America relationship to build a better national image, this paper, based on the 2001–2023 Latin American Barometer, 2001–2023 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, China Knowledge Network database and 2001–2023 Chinese government website’s reports on Latin America, government website’s reports on Latin America and Africa, tries to discuss Latin American people’s perceptions of China’s national image. This study mainly used Octopus, SPSS and other tools to crawl and analyze the data. The study found that there is a correlation between China’s national image and its national image.

Sino-Russian rapprochement after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The goal of the present article is to analyse if there was an observable change in the impact of Chinese normative power on Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine. The article finds that despite Russia’s growing dependence on China there have been no significant changes in the measure of success of Chinese normative power in Russian discourse. Russian officials refuse to copy Chinese initiatives and instead produce competitive initiatives of their own. At the same time the article observes a significant change in the perception of China among the Russian elites: while before the invasion they had a tendency to look down on China, after the invasion they portray China in a radically more positive manner.

Trends of fear and anger on YouTube during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has been the most widespread and threatening health crisis experienced by the Korean society. Faced with an unprecedented threat to survival, society has been gripped by social fear and anger, questioning the culpability of this pandemic. This study explored the correlation between social cognitions and negative emotions and their changes in response to the severe events stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.MethodsThe analysis was based on a cognitive-emotional model that links fear and anger to the social causes that trigger them and used discursive content from comments posted on YouTube’s COVID-19-related videos. A total of 182,915 comments from 1,200 videos were collected between January and December 2020. We performed data analyses and visualizations using R, Netminer 4.0, and Gephi software and calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficients between emotions.ResultsYouTube videos were analyzed for keywords indicating cognitive assessments of major events related to COVID-19 and keywords indicating negative emotions. Eight topics were identified through topic modeling: causes and risks, perceptions of China, media and information, infection prevention rules, economic activity, school and infection, political leaders, and religion, politics, and infection. The correlation coefficient between fear and anger was 0.462 (p < .001), indicating a moderate linear relationship between the two emotions. Fear was the highest from January to March in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak, while anger occurred before and after the outbreak, with fluctuations in both emotions during this period.ConclusionsThis study confirmed that social cognitions and negative emotions are intertwined in response to major events related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with each emotion varying individually rather than being ambiguously mixed. These findings could aid in developing social cognition-emotion-based public health strategies through education and communication during future pandemic outbreaks.

Unveiling Public Perception and Interpretation of China’s National Self-Image: Analyzing Chinese Online Commentary Data

This research study aims to address the oversight in previous studies that focused on constructing China’s image through the media without investigating how audiences perceive and interpret that depiction. This study aims to investigate how Chinese internet users perceive China’s self-image to understand Chinese citizens’ attitudes and reactions to political propaganda circulated by Chinese authorities online more effectively. To achieve this, we have chosen “This is China,” an online political program that presents China’s self-image. A total of 60,648 comments were collected and analyzed. For the analysis, T-LDA, Sentiment Analysis, and Semantic Network Analysis were employed. The study reveals six significant factors: Real-Life Stress, Patriotic Sentiment, Rational Emotion, Program Style, Presenter’s Public Persona, and Ironic Remarks, all of which shape the public’s perception of China’s image. Specifically, the study finds that Patriotism and Program Style have a positive influence on the audience’s perception, while the other factors hinder a favorable interpretation of the nation’s image.

The Evangelical Aim in the History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China by Juan González de Mendoza, a 16th Century European Work on China

For over five centuries, the History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China, written by Spanish missionary Juan González de Mendoza and published in 1585 in Rome, has captured the interest of the international academic community. However, scholarship has primarily focused on Mendoza’s depiction of China as rich and powerful, potentially overlooking the evangelical purpose of his narrative and failing to explain the correlation between the positive Chinese image and the author’s evangelical intention. This study aims to clarify the image of China presented by the Spanish author through a detailed textual analysis, concluding that Mendoza portrayed China as a rich and great nation that also had misguided beliefs and was open to evangelization. The Spanish author’s identity as an Augustinian preacher and ambassador of King Philip II of Spain to the Ming dynasty of China, as well as the global and evangelistic social context in which he lived, significantly influenced his perceptions of China. Furthermore, his hybrid profile of China was accepted in Europe at the time and became a collective memory because it embodied the spiritual context shared by the European community in the 16th century. This spiritual purpose was achieved through the idealized imagination, which serves as an affective medium in the formation of collective memory.

Keterlibatan Santri dalam Persepsi Wacana Tiongkok

Santris who have had the opportunity to go to China then face some contemplation, questions, and curiosity about what is really going on in the relationship between the two countries. Not all but some of them try to trace the substance and variations of Indonesians’ perceptions of China in the past. It’s like a philosophical romance where a child migrates to a foreign land but because of their migration, they become curious about their hometown. In scientific language, they try to slowly trace the existence of negative perceptions of China. They even unconsciously dismantle, although not frontally, the bad and negative image. Following Hong Liu’s (2015) opinion on the Chinese Metaphor, where China is used as a metaphor to express a sense of anxiety over domestic politics that is not going according to ideals, then, the santri are trying to dismantle the conflicting perceptions and narratives about China. For Indonesians, especially natives, Tiongkok as a nation-state is respected as a model country where leaders set an example so that the masses can work closely together. How the Chinese metaphor expresses the mood of the general public and anchors political and cultural thought in the early days of Indonesia as a country. Hong Liu even provides historical information that China for some Indonesian political elites was once used as an alternative form of modernity to the conception and practice of government politics that at that time still followed and emulated Western-derived systems and institutions. This study tries to apply a transnational approach to provide new insights into modern Asian History and regional transformation.

Perceptions of social credit systems in Southeast Asia: An external technology acceptance model

AbstractDigital data have become a valuable resource for autocratic governments seeking to influence societal behaviours. The rise of social credit systems in China has garnered a great deal of attention, with some even referring to them as ‘Orwellian’ surveillance systems. This study expands on previous research that has found surprisingly high levels of acceptance of social credit systems in China to the Southeast Asian region. Through an online opinion survey conducted in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, we discovered that citizens in these countries exhibit higher acceptance rates of social credit systems than opposition rates, although lower than those observed in China. Moreover, we find that acceptance rates would decline significantly if the technologies supporting these systems originated from China. By introducing an external technology acceptance model, we provide an explanation for these findings based on citizens' attitudes towards their domestic situation and their perceptions of China's potential benefits to their countries. Interestingly, most of the ‘China Threat’ perceptions do not translate into opposition against Chinese social credit system technologies, except for military risks. Instead, citizens' negative views are primarily influenced by specific technology‐related risks. These findings contribute to the existing literature on the acceptance of government‐run social credit systems and public perception in the context of international relations.

Chinese aid in Africa: Attitudes and conflict

This study examines Chinese aid projects’ impact on conflict and perceptions of China in 820 African districts from 2000 to 2012. We show that a 10% increase in Chinese aid projects results in a 6% increase in conflict incidents. This rise is mainly due to confrontations involving non-state actors, such as militias and rebel groups, and clashes between these groups and government forces. Civilian attitudes towards China’s presence do not drive this increase, as evidenced by both revealed and stated preferences. We find that Chinese aid does not provoke protests, riots, or strikes, nor does it amplify critical views among Africans regarding Chinese culture, resource extraction, or land acquisitions. Our evidence suggests that Africans attribute the rise in conflict to the interaction of resource influx and local politics, rather than to China itself, reflecting a discerning perspective on China’s influence on the continent.

Ambivalence and perceptions of China: Two list experiments

Do citizens reveal their valid preferences when asked about a potential foreign threat? This study presents the results of two list experiments implemented in Taiwan, a democratic and independently ruled island that leaders in China have long vowed to reunify with the mainland. Our two experiments—conducted in March 2019 and September 2021—focus on the percentage of Taiwanese who perceive China as a “friend” and those who regard China as an “enemy.” The findings reveal that, first, the proportion of Taiwanese citizens who harbored hostile feelings toward China grew by 30% points between the two dates. In comparison, those with a more friendly perception of China declined by 18% points. Second, we detected significant misreporting or preference falsification when comparing the list experiment estimates with answers to a direct question. Third, we found evidence that the hypothesized China-ambivalent respondents are most likely to have switched their perceptions of China.

China's soft power projection through the Chinese media: assessing the implications of Chinese media on Africans' perception of China's national image

PurposeThis article examines the effect of China's soft power projection through the Chinese media in Africa on the African audiences' perception of China's national image through a case study of the residents of Nairobi. It adopted Joseph Nye's soft power model and sought to address three fundamental questions : What is the extent and objective of China's media diplomacy in Africa? How has China's media “offensive” in Africa impacted African audiences' imagery of China? What are the implications, if any, of China's media diplomacy on the Kenyan public view of China?Design/methodology/approachThis article used a mixed-methods research design, which deployed elements of positivism and interpretivism. It used a deductive approach and deployed the survey strategy, which entailed the collection of data from Nairobi city residents. The secondary data were collected from relevant academic literature sources. The primary data were analyzed empirically using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), while the secondary data were analyzed using discourse analysis.FindingsChina's soft power projection through the Chinese media in Africa is aimed at addressing the “misinformation” about China. China seeks its share of representation among the African public to correct negative perceptions of China. Kenyans had a generally positive attitude toward China. South Africa and Angola have “Fairly” positive perceptions of the Chinese media. However, this study did not reveal whether the perception was due to the influence of Chinese media. These findings implied that the African public's positive imagery of China cannot be fully attributed to Chinese media's influence.Originality/valueThis study is groundbreaking in that it is one of the few studies that have focused on China's public diplomacy in Africa and assessed the impact of Chinese media on the African public’s perception of China.

Telling the stories of China well? The perception of China's rise by second-generation Chinese immigrants in an Australian University

AbstractChina's rise has been discussed in various ways, but only recently has scholarship started to examine it in relation to overseas Chinese, as politicians and commentators outside China, as well as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) itself and some scholars on “smart power” have come to realize their importance as political messengers of China. This paper analyses interview results with second-generation Chinese immigrants in Australia in tertiary education to examine how they are “telling the China story”. The results reveal this cohort's complex attitudes towards China's rise. On the one hand, they are proud of China's rise, especially in economic terms, and their socio-cultural attachment to it. On the other, they critically evaluate political and social issues in China, and are aware of their marginal position in Chinese society. These findings argue against the oversimplistic approach that regards Chinese immigrants as a homogenous group acting as political messengers of the CCP.

Examining the Primary Factors Restricting the Overseas Promotion of Chinese Culture: A Case Study of Association Mugua in France

This paper analyzes the main factors restricting the overseas promotion of Chinese culture, focusing on the case of the Mugua Association in France. With Chinas increasing national power and global influence, Chinese culture has become an effective tool to enhance Chinas image and others perceptions of China. By analyzing the experiences and strategies employed by the Mugua Association, this paper aims to shed light on the main barriers that hinder the successful promotion of Chinese culture overseas. The study adopts a qualitative approach, using document analysis to gather data. The conclusion is that various factors, including but not limited to cultural differences, a lack of official support, and the wrong promotion mode, contribute to the challenges faced by Mugua Association and other similar organizations.

Framing China: The Belt and Road Initiative in Argentine national media outlets

This article studies how Argentine national media outlets reported on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) between 2013 and February 2022 (this covers the period from the launch of the BRI to Argentina’s official accession to the initiative). Based on a framing analysis of 272 articles, this study argues that national media outlets tend to reproduce two frames about the BRI: they either present it as an opportunity or as a threat. The balance between them matters when attempting to understand how media organisations shape citizens’ perceptions of China and the BRI. In the case of Argentina, even though its political and economic relations with China have become closer, reports on the BRI were quite polarised. Indeed, national media outlets’ portrayal of the BRI as an opportunity has been slightly more prevalent than negative portrayal (41% vs. 35%). However, national media firms covered the BRI in different ways. Some organisations conveyed largely positive frames, some chiefly presented negative ones, and others were more balanced. The specific editorial lines of the newspapers and their affinities to national political alliances explain these different patterns. Furthermore, although articles citing Western sources were indeed more negative about the BRI, many of the op-eds and reports criticising the BRI were produced by Argentine journalists and other local actors. Thus, Chinese academics exaggerate Western media sources’ influence on Argentina’s national media critical coverage of China while overlooking reasonable concerns about the impacts of Chinese projects.

중국은 어떠한 동아시아 질서를 추구하는가?

China became a second largest economy in the world in 2010. Therefore, it is very likely that China will be a great power which can preside over the international order with the United States, for a economic power tends to produce a military and political power. In the meantime, the questions as to “What type of great power it will be?” have been raised. Common questions of these discussions are whether it will adopt a peaceful foreign policy as a democratic country or a hegemonic and confrontational foreign policy as an authoritarian country. This thesis studied China’s rhetoric and actual diplomatic measures before and after 2010. The study demonstrated that since 2010 its rhetoric and actual diplomatic measures seem to have a tendency of an ‘aggressive or coercive hegemony’. Peaceful rhetoric and actual diplomatic measures which China had showed before 2010 appeared to be temporary and hypocritical ones. Chinese President Xi Jinping began to talk about ‘China’s dream’. ‘China’s dream’ is a ‘great resurrection of Chinese people’. Chinese leaders since Deng Xiaoping have kept a low- profile foreign policy stance by obeying ‘tao guang yang hui’(hide one’s capabilities and bide one’s time), which is Deng’s legacy. However, the Chinese governments began to see itself as a great power and conduct an assertive foreign policy since 2008 when the global financial crisis took place. It launched the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ and declared the ‘Asian New Security Declaration’ which urged Asian nations to keep Asian security for themselves and began to regard the South China Sea as a China’s core interest. This Chinese aggressive behavior provoked strong repercussions from the United States. Therefore, the U.S. launched a trade war by defining China as a ‘strategic competitor’, which brought about the breakdown of the U.S.-China relations. In summary, China appears to attempt to recover centrality in the world by resurrecting ‘the great tradition of the Chinese nation’ which it once had had. However, it is not still clear what exactly it will look like. Whether China will be a peaceful country or not depends on China’s domestic situation and economic growth, perceptions of China’s leadership, and reactions of the neighboring countries.

Analysis of change in Russia&amp;#039;s perception of China from 2000 to 2023: Political dimension

Analysis of change in Russia&amp;#039;s perception of China from 2000 to 2023: Political dimension

The (Im)possibility of Understanding China in Abe Tomoji’s &lt;i&gt;Beijing&lt;/i&gt;

None of Tomoji Abe’s works has attracted as much attention from Japanese and Chinese scholars as &lt;i&gt;Beijing&lt;/i&gt;. To this point, these scholars and critics have developed two main perspectives on the text. As the scholars Ichiro Ando and Isao Mizukami point out, the first perspective is comprised of an interpretation of &lt;i&gt;Beijing&lt;/i&gt; that is based on the author’s critical stance on the brutal war. The other angle, expressed by Wang Shengyuan and Xiao Dongyuan, is to critique the Orientalism evident in the novel. However, because &lt;i&gt;Beijing&lt;/i&gt; was written in a time of turmoil and conflict, there are aspects of the text that do not fit into either one of these categories. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine the two conventional interpretations and to identify a new perspective on Abe’s perception of China. Much like exchanging spectacle lenses, which implies the swapping of two different values, I initially try to get a little closer to the &lt;i&gt;Beijing&lt;/i&gt; that Tomoji Abe, who was familiar with English and American literature and who also loved reading classical Chinese literature, saw in 1935. I then focus on the changes in the perspective of the protagonist, Daimon, in order to reevaluate Tomoji Abe’s perception of China and his new interpretation of it contained in &lt;i&gt;Beijing&lt;/i&gt;.