Intercultural Communication And Adaptation Aspects In The Case Of China-Montenegro Relations

With its ever-growing economy,China has continued expanding its great global impact through initiating more extensive cooperation with other countries with its “New Silk Road” or “Belt and Road Initiative”,one part being the “16+1” initiative,which connects China and the 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.This thesis seeks to contribute to research on the intercultural communication processes of relations between China and these nations,specifically focusing specifically on Montenegro.The study assesses two levels of intercultural relations between these 2 countries: people-to-people relations and national-level support for exchanges,both based on Triandis,Kurowski,and Gelfand's(1994)“Analysis of Diversity” theoretical framework.For people-to-people relations,an empirical study(based on varied perception,adaptation,and adjustment scales supporting the framework)surveyed Chinese nationals(N=174)currently living in Montenegro,and Montenegrin nationals(N=92)currently living in China.For national-level Sino–Montenegro relations,this study collected and analyzed published documents and reports using the framework to better explain the history and status of bilateral cultural relations related to the context,challenges,and current progress of intercultural communication.The empirical research specifically accessed perceived cultural distance between home and host culture reported by the respondents,analyzed the influences of their direct contact with their host culture,intercultural adaptation,sociotypes,and how these might be linked to knowledge of the host culture.Other constructs such as perceived social exclusion and degree of sociocultural adjustment were also measured to note affects on attitudes towards their host nationals.For Chinese–Montenegrin relations,the results show:(1)The more contact respondents had with their host culture,the less cultural distance they felt.However,in the Chinese sample,the more time the Chinese respondents spent with their home nationals,the less cultural distance they felt towards the host nationals.(2)Respondents who knew more about the host culture shared more contact and perceived similarity with their host culture.(3)The more contact they had,the more perceived similarities in behavior they shared.These findings provide insights to some actual intercultural relations between China and Montenegro(as part of the 16+1 nation-to nation exchanges)and demonstrates that Triandis' theoretical framework is workable as a model for bilateral relations.