Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Rise of China: Political Worldview and Chinese Exceptionalism
- 2 Chinese Political Worldview: IR with Chinese Characteristics
- 3 Who is China?
- 4 Chinese National Image and Global Leadership
- 5 The Belt and Road and the Path to Chinese Greatness
- 6 Perceiving China: Case Studies from Indonesia and Vietnam
- 7 Deciphering China: Views from Singapore
- 8 Conclusion: From Chinese Exceptionalism to Chinese Universality
- 9 Afterword: Covid-19 and the Limits of Chinese Exceptionalism
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - Chinese National Image and Global Leadership
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 May 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Rise of China: Political Worldview and Chinese Exceptionalism
- 2 Chinese Political Worldview: IR with Chinese Characteristics
- 3 Who is China?
- 4 Chinese National Image and Global Leadership
- 5 The Belt and Road and the Path to Chinese Greatness
- 6 Perceiving China: Case Studies from Indonesia and Vietnam
- 7 Deciphering China: Views from Singapore
- 8 Conclusion: From Chinese Exceptionalism to Chinese Universality
- 9 Afterword: Covid-19 and the Limits of Chinese Exceptionalism
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Abstract
This chapter looks at the national image that President Xi Jinping is attempting to project on the world stage vis-à-vis China's global interactions. By studying Xi's speeches, this chapter identifies the ways China tries to distinguish itself from the West in the space of domestic governance and the extent to which these ideas reflect the Chinese political worldview and belief in Chinese exceptionalism. Three main themes form the key narratives of both the promoted national image of China and Chinese exceptionalism, namely: (I) the “Chinese dream” and image of China as a flourishing civilization; (II) a progressive and peaceful China; and (III) China as a moral example which should be internationally emulated.
Keywords: national image, domestic governance, Chinese dream, peaceful rise, morality
In the preceding chapters, I have examined how China's political worldview is reflected in both the study of China's international relations thinking and discussions about its national identity. As I have noted, embedded in the Chinese worldview is a deep sense of exceptionalism: China claims that it is good and different from the West. Building on this, Chapters 4 and 5 analyze the construction of China's national image and how this image is used in China's international relations. In this chapter, I examine the national image(s) that Chinese leaders are attempting to project on the world stage vis-à-vis Beijing's global interactions. In Chapter 5, I examine the discourse surrounding the high-profile Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) rolled out in 2013 by President Xi Jinping to see how the BRI is understood by Chinese thinkers and what this tells us about China's view of the current global order.
Here in Chapter 4, I argue that creating a positive national image is essential if a country wants its political worldview to be accepted by others, and also strengthens a country's claim to be an exceptional power. A positive national image also provides diplomatic goodwill in international relations and affects the way political relations are structured. States that are perceived negatively on the international stage face greater diplomatic challenges, not least in the issue of trust, which is considered the backbone of any societal or political arrangement.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- China's Political Worldview and Chinese ExceptionalismInternational Order and Global Leadership, pp. 93 - 118Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2021