Research On China-related Information Sources Of American Think Tank Experts Based On Twitter

In recent years,the US government has defined China as its main strategic competitor.It has been provoking troubles in the political,economic,military,technological,cultural and other fields to attack China in an all-round way,which has greatly threatened the national security of China.American think tanks play a behind-the-scenes role in the formulation of the US policy on China.Since the attitude of American think tank experts towards China depends on the interpretation of various China-related information sources such as reports and literature,it is of great significance to analyze these information sources.This study selected four representative American think tanks,took the Twitter accounts of think tank experts as the research object,and collected the information sources related to China through the information posted on their Twitter.In dimensions of information carrier,information content and information using,the study analyzed the characteristics of American think tank experts’ way in selecting and using of China-related information sources,explored the current situation of international communication of our country’s information sources,discussed the American think tank experts’ observation perspective on China,and put forward targeted suggestions on the information source construction for international communication in China.At the same time,By discovering the connections between the China-related information sources,the tweets associated with information sources,the think tank experts’ attitude and trend towards China,and the US policy on China,this study excavated the intelligence value of the China-related information sources posted by the American think tank experts on Twitter and provided advice on how to judge the US’s moves toward China.The methods used in this study conclude topic clustering method,literature metrology,case analysis and content analysis,etc.The findings and recommendations of the study are: Firstly,in terms of think tank experts’ selection and utilization of China-related information sources,the study found that news media materials are the main information source for think tank experts to observe China.Experts prefer China-related viewpoints from foreign websites and facts from Chinese websites.Western elite public opinion has a major guiding role in think tank experts’ cognition of China.The proportion of conservative information has gradually increased in the experts’ information source horizon.The characteristics above reflect that the experts are affected by “selective contact”,personal social relationships,changes in the social and cultural environment,and are driven by psychological,task,and influence motivation when acquiring China-related information sources.All these features cause problems such as one-sided view,strong subjectivity,and the lack of first-hand information foundation.Based on these conclusions,the study put forward suggestions on our country’s information sources construction from the perspectives of increasing experts’ "off-track information contact",enhancing the influence of Chinese elite public opinion,creating an international public opinion environment which is conducive to our country,and filling the information needs of think tank experts.Secondly,in terms of the current situation of international communication of our country’s information sources,the study found that,on the one hand,some official websites and personal accounts of our country have achieved initial results in international communication,showing that the influence of our country’s information sources have been continuously increasing.But on the other hand,our country’s information sources are lack of channels for dissemination to American think tank experts,and the overall influence is still weak.Meanwhile,the document publishing websites from China have failed to play their due role in dissemination,and some information sources have the effects of "invalid transmission" and "reverse utilization".It can be seen that there is still much room for improvement in the information source construction in China.The problems above are mainly caused by the lack of non-official international communication institutions,the mismatch between English information sources in China and American think tank experts’ demand,the restriction on China’s international discursive power imposed by western social media,and the imperfections of information review and coordination systems in China.Based on these conclusions,the study proposed suggestions on our country’s information source construction from the perspective of increasing the degree of openness of information,establishing and improving English websites for international communication,strengthening the construction of overseas social media personal accounts,and perfecting the review and coordination mechanism of information release.Thirdly,in terms of American think tank experts’ observation perspective on China,the study found that when observing China,American think tank experts focus on the maintenance of the US hegemonic rights and interests as the core agenda,and use measure and interpretation frameworks as the main observation framework.There has been an evolution that is unfavorable to China,and the "intersection" phenomenon of agenda setting and the utilization and the Cold War framework are more likely to be used by experts who are more against China.The evolution of American think tank experts’ observation perspective on China is formed under the dual catalysis of the guidance of the US policy and development policies of China.The differences of American think tank experts’ observation perspectives on China are closely related to their personal backgrounds.Based on these conclusions,the study put forward suggestions on the information source construction from the perspective of improving the initiative of agenda setting,enhancing the effectiveness of discourse output,seizing the right to speak in a timely manner,and improving the accuracy of international communication.Finally,in terms of the intelligence value of the information sources posted by American think tank experts,the study found that the content and the comments of information sources reflect the basis of US policy on China.The abnormal changes in the popularity of information sources reflect the trends of American think tanks’ moves towards China.The information source agenda settings and frameworks reflect American think tank experts’ attitudes towards China.Based on these conclusions,a method for tracking American think tank experts’ Twitter through tweet analysis,topic popularity analysis,and perspective analysis is proposed to assist Chinese authorities to prejudge the US policy toward China.