How YouTube Opinion Leaders Build The National Image Of China

National image is an important part of a nation's soft power.Currently,the build of China's national image is confronted with two adverse conditions:First,the image built by the Western media is still negative;second,the image built by our mainstream media hasn't really touched down to foreign audience.Compared with mass media,interpersonal communication is more convincing.Based on this,it's meaningful to study how foreign audience build China's image on social networking site.This study uses content analysis.By analyzing videos about China uploaded by YouTube opinion leaders,it is aimed to find what image they build for China,and how their personal traits influence the result.Specifically,data recorded include the video's theme and attitude,the up-loader's gender,location,occupation,and whether they have been to China.The study finds that world favorability of China has increased.But to be specific,China's political image is relatively negative,built as a centralized country.About economic image,it is positive at macro level,but China's products are frequently criticized for quality,and property issue.Social image of China is one-sided negative for its all kind of social problems,and the bad image of Chines citizens.China's cultural image is generally positive,especially for its food and music.Finally,the geographical image is objective,presented as huge population with abundant resources.Besides,the personal traits of YouTube opinion leader influence how they build China's image.In gender,male opinion leaders dominate the discourse resources.They care more areas than females about China,and tend to be more strong in expressing feeling.In location,opinion leaders from the developed countries,especially those from North American take the leading roles.In occupation,freelancers,enterprise managers,and professionals are the three main forces of content production.There's not too much differences in content and attitude.Finally,YouTube opinion leaders who have come to China are more agreeable with China.