A Study On The Developping Paths Of China’s Sport Diplomacy In The View Of National Image

In globalization era, as “an identity card” to enter interactional society, national image is playing a more and more important role in politics, economy, cultures and diplomacy and so on. Sport is the one of the most efficient methods of communication as well as a universal language loved and accepted by many peoples. As a new form of diplomacy,sport diplomacy becomes an important tool to shape the national image due to its natural-born superiority in overcoming language and cultural barriers.After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially in the past 35 year of reform and opening up, the consistent economic boom make China a sharp increase in international influence. As a new but strong power, the growth of China leads to the structure adjustment of the international society. The development of China was labeled by someone from a view of point through colored sunglasses as “China Threat” and “China Collapse”, which seriously damaged the our national image. Therefore, it becomes one of the most important missions of international relations to reshape the national image of China by communication and exchange with foreign countries. The targeted public diplomacy will help to improve other countries’ public impression of China and lead to positive recognition. Under this background, the study on the developping paths of China’s sport diplomacy in shaping the national image is quite necessary for the improvement of international relations, and also make great significance in enriching the development strategy of sport diplomacy as well as destroy the vicious intention of demonizing China.This paper will take the developping paths of China’s sport diplomacy in shaping the national image as the object of research.Literature research, content analysis and case analysis are used in this research. It will define the conceptions of national image and sport diplomacy, review the development history of new China’s sport diplomacy,analyze the functions of two mile-stone events, ping pong diplomacy and Beijing Olympic diplomacy, in shaping the national image, explain thechallenges faced by the sport diplomacy of China and give suggestions to the future development of sport diplomacy.This research found that the sport diplomacy made significant achievements after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and it plays an important and irreplaceable historical role in building international relations as well as shaping the national image. Along with the structure adjustment of international society, it is quite urgent to reshape our national image and the sport diplomacy is facing both challenges and chances. In order to promote the development of sport diplomacy, we need to make good use of our resources, strengthen the cooperation with our partners, make quick adjustment and avoid our weak points so as to improve the national image as well as create a favorable international environment for the rise of China.