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Charmed by China? Popular Perceptions of Chinese Influence in Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2012

TRAVIS NELSON  and
MATTHEW CARLSON
TRAVIS NELSON
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Plattevillenelsontra@uwplatt.edu
MATTHEW CARLSON
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of VermontMatthew.Carlson@uvm.edu
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Abstract

Chinese influence in Asia is complicated by many factors. There are those who argue that China's growing military and economic power make this influence an automatic threat, while others maintain that China's recent attempts at a ‘charm offensive’ mute this threat and have succeeded in creating a positive image for many of its regional neighbors. Drawing on survey data collected across 23 countries, we enter this debate by asking what individuals in and across Asia think about Chinese influence. Do they see this influence as positive or negative? What factors at the individual and national levels most clearly shape their perceptions? Using multilevel statistical analysis, we find that Asian opinions of Chinese influence are on the whole quite positive and are influenced by a range of factors, including foreign policy interest, national identification, foreign contact, and recent military conflict.

Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 13 , Special Issue 4: Soft Power of Civil Society in International Relations , December 2012 , pp. 477 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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