An Analysis Of National Identity, Foreign Policy And China's National Image Construction

National identity,as the source for the construction of the national image,is a central question that sovereign nations need to resolve in their foreign relations.Interests presupposing identities,motivated by a variety of interests,states formulate foreign policies.Other countries acquire the information of the identity from its policies,after subjective processing,they form other kinds of images that are similar or opposite to the identities.Thus,studying national identity and foreign policy will have a more comprehensive understanding of how national identity and foreign policy affect the country's image.Besides,the news media,as an important channel for spreading,constructing,and influencing the national image,can truly reflect the national images in the eyes of other countries in a certain period of time.Since 1949,China's national image has long trapped in the predicament of constructing by other countries,and the western news media played an important role in this process.Therefore,the study of the reports of the western media on China can objectively present China's national image during this period.Chinese identities have adjusted three times since 1949.It can be generally divided into “revolutionary socialist countries” from the 1950 s to the 1970 s,“developing countries” from the 1980 s to the early 21 st century,and the “responsible power” in the new era.Through comparative analysis of the national identities,foreign policies,and the reports of western media involving China of these three eras,an accurate identity in line with the national interests,a foreign policy which share benefits with a wide range of countries,and multi-channel methods of construction will improve the country's image.