Changes In The National Image Of China In Korea,Japan,and Russia Under The Context Of International Relations

Why does China’s national image rise or fall in South Korea,Japan,and Russia? This study concludes that there are three reasons for the rise and fall of China’s national image:neutrality issues,abrupt incidents,and cultural and trade exchanges.When South Korea takes a neutral position in international relations,China’s national image among South Korean people is not likely to decline,and when South Korea does not take a neutral position in international relations,China’s national image among South Korean people has a high possibility to decline.This paper examines how China’s national image among the South Korean people did not decline when South Korea took a neutral stance on the North Korean nuclear issue,though soon after,security issues within the Korean peninsula,such as the Cheonan ship incident and the Yeonpyeong Island incident that damaged the lives and properties of South Koreans,and the deployment of THAAD has further caused South Korea to break away from a neutral position in Sino-US relations,leading to a decline in China’s national image in South Korea.In addition,when abrupt incidents related to China occurred,China’s national image among the Korean people declined.The dispute over the garlic,historical issues on Goguryeo,and environmental and COVID-19 issues occurred among the Chinese and Korean people.Although these issues have been resolved through communication and negotiations between the governments,China’s popularity and its image among the Korean people have declined.Finally,the increase in people-to-people and cultural and trade exchanges between China and South Korea has increased China’s national image among the Korean people.When Japan takes a neutral stance in international relations,China’s national image among Japanese people is not likely to decline;when Japan does not take a neutral stance in international relations,China’s national image among Japanese people may decline significantly.In the context of Sino-US relations,Japan has shown a more anti-China stance than the United States through the North Korean nuclear issue,the Diaoyu Islands issue,and the Japan-US alliance.As a result,China’s national image in Japan has declined.Moreover,abrupt incidents concerning food,such as the mushroom dispute and the poisoned dumpling incident,occurred,as well as historical issues that led to demonstrations and parades among Japanese and Chinese people,environmental issues caused by air pollution,and the COVID pandemic.These abrupt incidents further stimulated and consolidated the bad feelings and image of the Japanese towards China.Finally,the constant expansion of people-to-people cultural and trade exchanges between China and Japan is what is maintaining a positive national image of China in Japan.When Russia takes a neutral stance in international relations,China’s national image among the Russian people is not likely to decline;when Russia does not take a neutral stance in international relations,China’s national image among the Russian people is more likely to decline.The North Korean nuclear issue and “human rights issue” reflect Russia’s neutral position as is China that holds a neutral position.Meanwhile,with Syria and Ukraine issues,China again took neutral stances,which has benefited the bilateral relations between China and Russia to remain sound,and China’s national image in Russia did not decline.The same goes for the abrupt incidents between China and Russia,namely the Georgia issue,the cooperation between Russia and Vietnam,and the COVID epidemic.Though the decline on national image was evident at first,China calmly dealt with the problems,stopped losses in time,and avoided conflicts between the two countries,which left trifling negative repercussions on China’s national image in Russia.Finally,the people-to-people cultural and trade exchanges between China and Russia are expanding in all aspects,maintaining good images between the Chinese and Russian people.