Study On The Public Diplomacy Of State-owned-Enterprises And The Improvement Of National Image

China and Cambodia have strong ties and frequent trade exchanges.Cooperation between the two countries has deepened in recent years,and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement,which will come into effect on January 1,2022,provides more opportunities for enterprises in both countries.At the same time,the volatile international political environment and the risks posed by geopolitics and great power competition also pose challenges to the survival,communication and development of Chinese enterprises in Cambodia.As a complement to traditional diplomacy,corporate public diplomacy uses enterprises as the mainstay to build bridges between the people of the home and host countries.Taking HuaNeng Group as a typical case,this paper attempts to sort out the practice of Chinese state-owned enterprises in carrying out public diplomacy activities in Cambodia.At the same time,it combines field questionnaires to grasp the elements of China that Cambodian youth are most concerned about,and to sketch the image of Chinese enterprises and the country in their minds.Finally,the paper will analyse the impact of SOEs’ public diplomacy activities in Cambodia on the country’s image,grasp their contributions and shortcomings,discuss the problems and make suggestions.This paper finds that Chinese enterprises’ public diplomacy activities in Cambodia are becoming more and more frequent,driven by their development on the one hand,and the demands of international competition on the other.This paper argues that state-owned enterprises’ shaping of China’s image in the local area is basically done by responding to or meeting local needs and concerns,and the active dissemination of culture and ideas is still insufficient.The public diplomacy activities of Chinese enterprises in Cambodia are mainly based on social responsibility activities,which are fruitful but not deeply rooted,creating an overall image of economic contribution in the local community rather than social contribution.Through research with Cambodian youth,we found that Cambodians have a positive perception of the economic and livelihood contributions of Chinese companies in Cambodia,but a poor perception of their environmental and human rights awareness.In terms of national image,the Cambodian youth group’s perception of China’s national image focuses on China’s economy-related aspects in terms of focus and interest.Overall,the Cambodian youth group has a positive opinion of China,and the positive aspects are consistent with their opinion of Chinese companies.Of course,Cambodian youth are still somewhat on the fence about the rise of China and the concept of Chinese development.This is where the next step in corporate public diplomacy should be taken.In recent years,enterprises in Cambodia have been broadening their public diplomacy activities and actively seeking cooperation with various social organizations,think tanks and universities.This represents that the state-owned enterprises in Cambodia are promoting corporate public diplomacy,showing Chinese culture with their culture,telling the story of China with their stories,helping to build the image of the country with the construction of their corporate image,achieving a win-win situation in a positive interaction with the world,and playing an important role in the cause of building a community of human destiny.