Chinese Journal of Communication

Vol. 4, No. 1, March 2011, 120

What shapes Americans opinion of China? Country characteristics,

public relations and mass media
Xiuli Wanga* and Pamela J. Shoemakerb
a
Peking University, China; bSyracuse University, USA

This study looks at the effect of Chinas political freedom, economic develop-
ment and public relations efforts on the US medias coverage of China, and on
Americans opinions of China in the past 30 years. Chinas political freedom was
found to be significant in predicting US media coverage of China and Americans
opinion of China, with more freedom leading to more positive coverage and more
favorable opinions. More positive news coverage is related to more favorable
American opinions of China when controlling for political and economic develop-
ment and for public relations efforts. The number of public relations contracts
China has signed with the US is also related to the increase in positive US media
coverage of China.
Keywords: country characteristics; public relations; mass media; foreign public
opinion; China

In todays era of globalization, foreign public opinion has played an important role in
international marketing and foreign policy making. Studies find that, to a large
extent, public perception of foreign countries determines consumers evaluation and
purchase intention of imported products: a more favorable perception leads to better
evaluation and higher intent to purchase (dAstous & Ahmed, 1999). More
importantly, as political leaders constantly survey public attitudes when developing
policies on international issues, public opinion increasingly influences foreign policy
in democratic countries (Holsti, 2004; Sobel, 2001).
Given the importance of foreign public opinion, public diplomacy defined as
governmental efforts to inform or influence public opinion in other countries in order
to reduce misperceptions and promote national interests (Tuch, 1990) has gained
much attention from scholars, government officials and public relations practitioners.
Together with the emergence and increasing popularity of soft power, a concept
developed by Nye (2004) and defined as the ability to win the hearts and minds of a
foreign public through attraction rather than coercion, many countries have
developed programs targeted at influencing foreign public opinion through tourism,
business expansion and cultural/educational exchanges.
Since the United States is currently the most powerful nation in the world, many
countries hire large public relations firms to conduct public relations campaigns there,
trying to positively shape their media image and influence public opinion and foreign
policy in their favor (Johnson, 2004; Manheim, 1994). Since China and the United
States established diplomatic relations in the 1970s, the Chinese government has

*Corresponding author. Email: xiuli.wang@pku.edu.cn

ISSN 1754-4750 print/ISSN 1754-4769 online

q 2011 The Communication Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
DOI: 10.1080/17544750.2011.544079
http://www.informaworld.com
2 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

made increasing efforts to maintain and strengthen its relationship with the US.
Chinas quest to boost its international image goes hand in hand with its rising
economic and political confidence, but China has also felt a particular need to
respond to the China threat theory that emerged in the 1990s.
Given the importance of foreign public opinion and the Sino US relationship,
this study examines factors shaping US public opinion of China from 1979 to 2007.
We chose 1979 as the starting point not only because China and the US established a
formal diplomatic relationship in that year, but also because it roughly coincides with
the inception of Chinas reform and opening policy, which ultimately led to its
increased global trade and economic prowess. Specifically, the study looks at, first,
how Chinas political, economic characteristics and public relations efforts influence
US media coverage; second, how Chinas country characteristics and public relations
efforts affect Americans opinions; and finally, how media coverage of China
influences Americans opinions of China when taking into account the effect of
country characteristics and public relations efforts. (See Figure 1 for the hypothesized
relationships.)

Theory
To provide a theoretical base for the study, factors influencing international news and
public opinion, especially toward foreign countries, are reviewed from different
perspectives. In addition, Chinas public relations efforts in the United States are
examined to provide some background information.

Factors influencing international news coverage

Country characteristics and international news coverage
Various country characteristics, such as a countrys geographic, economic, social,
political and cultural attributes, have been discussed in previous literature in regard to
their influence on international news coverage (Chang, 1998; Chang, Shoemaker, &
Brendlinger, 1987; Dupree, 1971; Galtung & Ruge, 1965). Specifically, Rosengren
(1977) finds that the extra-media factors, such as trade, population and geographic
distance, affect the volume of news a nation receives in anothers media; Charles,
Shore and Todd (1979) indicate that trade and population determine the amount of

Chinas country
characteristics

US media
Americans
coverage of China
opinions of China

Chinas public
relations efforts

Figure 1. Theoretical model of the influences on public opinion of China.

 Chinese Journal of Communication 3

news coverage African countries receive in the New York Times; and Ishii (1996)
suggests that both GDP and population predict the quantity of international news
coverage in the Japanese media, with higher GDP and larger population leading to
more coverage.
Chang (1998) investigates Reuters coverage of countries in the 1996 WTO
conference, and finds that nations with high economic, political, social and cultural
weight, such as the United States and nations in the European Union, are more likely
to be covered in the media than are other countries. Additionally, Wu (2000)
examines nine systematic variables of international news coverage across 38
countries, finding that trade volume is positively related to the amount of coverage a
country receives in anothers media. Using network analysis, Kim and Barnett (1996)
suggest that international news coverage associates positively with a countrys
economic development, political freedom and population.

Public relations and international news coverage

Public relations is defined as the management function that establishes and
maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics
on whom its success or failure depends (Cutlip, Center, & Broom, 2000, p. 6). Public
relations are targeted at cultivating good relationships with effective communication
programs and use of various media outlets. In both theoretical and empirical
studies, public relations have been identified as one of the important factors
influencing media content and shaping the news agenda (Lee & Berkowitz, 2004;
Shoemaker & Reese, 1996). The Foreign Agent Registration records of the US
Department of Justice show that, although the goals of the lobbying and public
relations campaigns on behalf of various foreign governments differ substantially,
one of the most common basic goals is to influence the American medias coverage of
the countries.
Among the first scholars who examined the effect of international public relations
on mass media, Manheim and Albritton (1984) identify two dimensions of media
coverage of foreign nations: visibility and valence. Visibility refers to the amount and
prominence of media coverage a given country receives, whereas valence is the
affective attribute of media content about the country, either positive or negative.
Their studies found that public relations efforts by some foreign countries did change
US media coverage of them, with a decline in the amount and prominence of negative
stories and an increase in positive coverage (Albritton & Manheim, 1985; Manheim &
Albritton, 1984).
More recently, in their case study of the Chinese governments public relations
campaign in the United States, Zhang and Cameron (2003) conclude that
international public relations campaigns have had some effect on US media coverage
of China, reducing the negativity of reports in the New York Times, although the
effect is rather ephemeral. Also, Lee (2007) finds that the public relations efforts of 97
countries in the United States are significantly related to the prominence of US
newspaper and television coverage of those countries after controlling for country
characteristic variables. Following Manheim and Albrittons (1984) and Lees (2007)
studies, this study uses the number and dollar amount of public relations contracts
China has signed with the US to measure Chinas public relations effort.
4 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

Based on the above literature, we hypothesize that Chinas country characteristics

and public relations effort in the past 30 years will influence US media coverage of
China. As Chinas geographic and cultural characteristics have not changed much in
that time, we include only economic and political characteristics in the analysis. In
particular, our first two hypotheses are:
H1: Chinas economic development and political freedom in the past 30 years are
positively related to US media coverage of China in terms of amount, valence and
prominence over the years.

H2: Chinas public relations efforts the number and dollar amount of public relations
contracts China has signed with the US in the past 30 years will be positively
related to US media coverage of China in terms of amount, valence and prominence
over the years.

Public opinion toward foreign countries

The definition of public opinion has been widely debated for years: it has variously
been said to be the aggregation of individual views, the reflection of elite opinions, or
the consensus after debate and discussion (Price, 1992). Although ideally public
opinion should be a social and communication process of discussion, debate, and
collective decision making on public affairs (Price, 1992, p. 91), today it is often
understood as the attitude or belief shared by most people, and also what opinion
polls try to measure (Price, 1992). Surveys on a variety of issues conducted by polling
organizations have become a primary source for tracking public opinion. Among
those issues, opinion of other countries is gaining increasing attention in recent years.
The Pew Global Attitudes Project1 has consistently conducted worldwide public
opinion surveys about how Americans and foreign publics regard one another, and
different related issues and problems. The Gallup Organization has regularly
surveyed Americans overall opinions of foreign countries since the 1970s. Given the
popularity of foreign public opinion among commercial survey organizations,
scholars and government officials are paying more attention to the factors that could
shape foreign public opinions.

Mass media and opinions of foreign countries

Mass media and journalists play an essential role in shaping public opinion,
connecting events occurring in the world with the images of these events in peoples
minds (Lippmann, 1922). Since most people lack direct experiences with foreign
countries, their opinions of them are based mainly on the information they receive
from the media. An experimental study conducted by Perry (1985) indicates that
respondents relied largely on the news stories they read to make inferences about
other nations, rather than what they knew about those nations. Studies on agenda
setting, priming and framing have demonstrated the effect of mass media in shaping
public opinion (e.g., Entman, 2004; Wanta, Golan, & Lee, 2004; Willnat, Graf, &
Brewer, 2000).
When applying agenda setting to international news coverage, scholars find a
strong correlation between the salience of foreign affairs in the media and the salience
of foreign affairs for the public (Soroka, 2003; Wanta & Hu, 1993). Moreover, Wanta
 Chinese Journal of Communication 5

and colleagues (2004) study of network television coverage and public perceptions of
foreign nations shows that the more media coverage a nation receives, the more likely
respondents are to think it is vitally important to US interests.
Priming is defined as changes in the standards that people use to make political
evaluations (Iyengar & Kinder, 1987, p. 63), and is often considered an extension of
agenda setting (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). By making some issues more salient
than others in peoples minds through agenda setting, mass media primes people to
give them more weight in their overall assessment of officials and governments.
Willnat and colleagues (2000) study indicates that the coverage of international
affairs in US newspapers may shape the criteria that Americans use to judge foreign
nations.
Based on the assumption that how an issue is structured and characterized in news
can influence how audiences understand it, framing is commonly understood as the
way media professionals and their audiences organize and make sense of events
(Reese, Gandy, & Grant, 2001). Entman (2004) systematically examines the framing
effect in the context of political and foreign policy, using the examples of two tragic
incidents2 to illustrate how media can frame similar issues in very different ways and
therefore lead the public to different perceptions of the countries involved.
In addition, Brewer, Graf and Willnat (2003) have used experiments to investigate
media influence on attitudes toward foreign countries, finding that the direct and
explicit news frames media practitioners form can shape peoples perception of other
countries. Combining public opinion and media content data, Wanta and colleagues
(2004) study of media coverage and perceptions of foreign nations shows that when
the US media cover foreign nations in a negative light, Americans tend to have a
negative view of those nations, while positive and neutral coverage does not show any
effect.

Country characteristics and opinions of foreign countries

In their pilot survey study of how people in different nations view each other,
Buchanan and Cantril (1953) indicate that geographical locations, historical ties,
military allies and language are all influential factors underlying international
attitudes. Boulding (1959) discusses national image as one type of public opinion in
the context of international systems, and suggests that perceived favorability and
strength, two dimensions of national image, are determined by such factors as
geographical location, diplomatic relations, military allies, economic resources,
political system and cultural proximity.
Nincic and Russett (1979) investigate the effect of similarity and interest between
the United States and 25 foreign countries on Americans attitudes toward those
countries. Similarity was measured by closeness to the United States in terms of such
indicators as race, language, religion, political system and level of economic
development; interest refers to the economic and security interest shared with the
United States, measured by indicators like trade, direct investment and military bases.
The results indicate that the more similar a countrys culture and political freedom3
are to those of the US, and the higher degree of shared economic and security interest
it has with the US, the more favorable opinions Americans hold toward that country.
Working from an advertising and branding perspective, Simon Anholt (2007)
coined the phrase nation branding in 1996, proposing that most countries can
6 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

create their images by using six natural channels: tourism promotion, export brands,
government policy decisions, investment, cultural exchanges and activities, and the
people of the country themselves. Among them, export brands and investment are
closely connected with a countrys economic power, while tourism promotion,
cultural exchanges and activities, and people are tied to its public relations effort.

Public relations and opinions of foreign countries

Using public relations to cultivate public opinion is nothing new. Such campaigns
have occurred since World War I, when British, German and American
propagandists tried to manipulate public opinion in their favor (Kunczik, 1997).
More recently, Manheim (1994) recounts the public relations campaigns of South
Korea and Kuwait in the late 1980s and early 1990s; both were effective in changing
public opinions of both countries among ordinary Americans and influential elites
alike. Based on their empirical studies, Manheim and Albritton (1984) argue that
foreign countries public relations efforts have the potential to influence public
opinion and policy by changing US media coverage, especially in elite newspapers like
the New York Times.
Today, public relations tools are often used by governments to respond to crises
and restore damaged images among foreign publics, as shown in the US governments
public diplomacy effort in the Middle East after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The post-
Tiananmen Square protest era also saw a growing number of public relations
contracts signed by the Chinese government and corporations with American public
relations firms, trying to rebuild Chinas connections with the West and reshape its
image.
Besides mass communication, large public relations firms have employed various
other methods, such as tourism promotion and cultural and educational activities and
exchanges, to help foreign countries shape public opinion and policy formation in the
United States (Johnson, 2004; Kunczik, 1997; Manheim, 1994).

Chinas image-building efforts in the United States

Starting from its economic reform and open-door policy in 1978, China has gradually
internationalized itself both economically and politically, and is now playing a bigger
and more constructive role in world affairs. However, the rapid economic
development of China has made its neighbors and the United States perceive it as
a potential threat, and the China threat theory, which claims that a growing China
poses a threat to the United States and the western world, became pervasive in the
American political discourse in the 1990s (Huntington, 1993; Scott, 2007). In response
to this theory, and to maintain a peaceful environment for its own development,
China has made sustained efforts since that time to build a non-threatening and
cooperative image around the world through cultural, educational and economic
assistance programs (Kurlantzick, 2007).
Because China is trying to build its soft power worldwide, it has paid special
attention to fostering a good relationship with the United States (Zhang & Cameron,
2003). One reason for this special effort is that the United States is very influential in a
variety of international organizations and fields; a positive image in the United States
could help China obtain more favorable policies in international organizational
 Chinese Journal of Communication 7

settings. Second, China and the US have such close economic ties that a bad image is
costly and potentially dangerous to the economic interests of both sides. As the
biggest importer of Chinese goods and an important investor in China, the United
States plays an essential role in Chinas economic growth, and vice versa.
One of Chinas image-building efforts is the promotion of Chinese culture and
language studies through the establishment of Confucius Institutes worldwide.
Eighteen Confucius Institutes were set up in the United States, the most in any
country,4 and used not only to provide Chinese language instruction and cultural
resources, but also to advance an important political agenda: to present a kinder and
gentler image of China to the outside world (Gill & Huang, 2006, p. 18).
The Chinese government has also organized cultural events in the United States in
an effort to increase Americans exposure to China. For example, in September 2000,
the Information Office of the State Council and the Ministry of Culture sponsored a
large cultural activity in New York and other American cities, called Chinese
Cultures Tour to the United States. This was the largest cultural exchange project
ever organized by the Chinese government, and it received extensive coverage from
the US media, including CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
More recently, in response to the Chinese product recall crisis in the United
States,5 the Chinese government and Chinese manufacturers not only started a
quality war inside China, but also employed a public relations strategy to rebuild its
image in the United States. According to Chas (2007) article in the Washington Post,
China hired one of the largest US lobbying firms, Patton Boggs, at $22,000 a month
for counseling services. At the same time, the Chinese government has sought advice
from public relations firms such as Ogilvy and Edelman about how to deliver positive
messages to American consumers.
The final three hypotheses are derived from the literature reviewed above:
H3: Chinas economic development and political freedom in the past 30 years will have a
positive effect on Americans opinions of China over the years.

H4: Chinas public relations efforts in the United States in the past 30 years will have a
positive effect on Americans opinions of China over the years.

H5: US media coverage of China in the past 30 years will have a positive effect on
Americans opinions of China over the years.

Methods
To test the hypotheses, secondary data about Chinas economic development,
political freedom and public relations efforts, along with data about Americans
opinions of China, are collected from various sources. The US medias coverage of
China is also analyzed in terms of the amount, prominence and valence of coverage
and news topics.

Dependent variable
The unit of analysis for this study is the public opinion poll. Altogether, Gallup has
conducted 22 polls on Americans perception of China from 1979 to 2007. The polls
were not evenly distributed over the years; in most years there was one poll, but in
8 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

some there was either none or more than one. To have the largest sample size, all the
opinion polls were included in the study, rather than just one poll each year.
The dependent variable in this study is Americans overall opinion of China,
operationalized as the average favorability perception Americans hold toward it.
Public opinion data were obtained from the Gallup Polls annual survey of perception
of foreign countries, in which randomly selected Americans were asked about their
overall opinion of China, from very favorable to very unfavorable, since 1979.
The average favorability score was calculated as an additive index by multiplying the
percentage of people who said very favorable by 5, mostly favorable by 4, no
opinion by 3, mostly unfavorable by 2 and very unfavorable by 1. Therefore, for
each opinion poll, a favorability score was calculated to represent Americans overall
opinion toward China in that year.

Independent variables
Chinas political freedom, economic development and public relations efforts were
the independent variables. Data values for the political and economic indicators are
taken from one year before the public opinion data to allow the assumed impact of
changes in country characteristics to take effect, as most polls were conducted in early
February, when political and economic data from the year before were more relevant
and available.
Chinas political freedom is measured by political rights and civil liberties, two
freedom scores reported by the Freedom Houses annual surveys of Freedom in the
World. The survey ratings are derived from a multi-layered process of analysis and
evaluation by a team of regional experts and scholars, and are believed to reflect the
most balanced and unbiased judgment of Chinas political status available. The scales
of these two scores are inversely coded from the original score: 7 indicating the highest
degree of freedom and 1 the least. Two scores for each year were added up to
represent Chinas political freedom status.
Chinas economic development was measured by three economic indicators:
Chinas annual GDP, trade with the US (both imports from and exports to the US),
and foreign direct investment (FDI) (both Chinas annual direct investment in the US
and the US annual direct investment in China). GDP is the dollar amount of
goods and services produced by labor and capital supplied by Chinese citizens in a
given year. Imports were measured by the dollar amount of goods, materials and
services China brings in from the US for sale or trade, exports by the dollar amount of
goods, materials and services China sends to the US for sale or trade. Chinas annual
direct investment in the US and the US annual direct investment in China were
recorded as the dollar amount of value in contracts the two countries have signed with
each other. Coding for these five variables was adopted from the China Statistical
Yearbook 1981 20076 and the China Commerce Yearbook 1984 2007.7 As the most
authoritative source available for Chinas economic data, the Chinese National
Bureau of Statistics publishes the yearbook annually for public record.
Chinas public relations effort was measured by two variables: the number and
dollar amount of public relations-related contracts China has signed with the US.
Data for the two variables were gathered from the Foreign Agent Registration Act
(FARA) reports from the late 1970s to 2007, focusing on Chinas public relations
activities in the US. FARA, enacted by the US Congress in 1938, requires public
 Chinese Journal of Communication 9

relations agencies working for international clients (foreign government, political

parties or a person or organization outside the United States, except for US citizens)
to file their contract information to the FARA under the Department of Justice for
public record. The FARA report is an ideal source for tracking other countries public
relations activities in the United States, and has been used in many previous studies as
an assessment of foreign countries public relations effort in the United States
(Johnson, 2004; Lee, 2006, 2007).

Mediating variables
Mass media coverage is the mediating factor, including such variables as the amount,
prominence and valence of coverage China receives in the US media. Three major US
newspapers the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today8 were
chosen as the primary sources due to their circulation and influence in American
society, as well as their devotion to international news coverage. Studies on inter-
media agenda setting indicate that newspapers, especially elite ones like the New York
Times and the Washington Post, set the agenda in general for electronic and other
forms of print media (Atwater, Fico & Pizante, 1987; Benton & Frazier, 1976;
Danielian & Reese, 1989). In addition, a recent study by the Pew Research Centers
Project for Excellence in Journalism finds that the vast majority of actual reporting
still comes from newspapers, and that most of what digital news outlets offer is
repetition and commentary, not new information (Perez-Pena, 2010, p. 89).
Therefore, our selection of the three newspapers may to a great extent represent what
Americans get from mass media.
The Lexis-Nexis database was used to retrieve relevant news articles by using
China, Chinese, Beijing9 or the last name of the Chinese leader in power as
search terms in the headline. News stories retrieved from Lexis-Nexis were carefully
screened to ensure that only stories with strong, direct connections with China were
included in the analysis.
Previous agenda setting research suggests that the optimal effect span that is,
the period of time in which changes in media content can be expected to cause changes
in public opinion ranges from one week (Wanta & Hu, 1993) to several months
(Stone & McCombs, 1981). Based on the past studies, three months was chosen as the
optimal effect span. Altogether, 5,442 news articles about China were retrieved from
Lexis-Nexis in the three-month period before each opinion poll. Among them, 3,173
articles were from the New York Times, 1,849 were from the Washington Post, and the
remaining 420 were from USA Today.
Coding for media coverage of China includes three variables: amount,
prominence and valence. The amount of coverage was measured by counting the
total number of news articles about China in the three US newspapers. The
prominence and valence of coverage were measured in two steps: first, each news story
was coded for prominence and valence; second, the prominence and valence scores for
each news story in the three-month period were added together and averaged to
represent the coverage prominence and valence of China matched with each public
opinion poll.
The prominence score for each news article was calculated by multiplying the
length of the article (total number of words) with its placement, defined as the page on
which an article appears, with the front page coded as 3, section front as 2, and any
10 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

other page as 1. The average prominence score was calculated based on the prominence
score of each news article.
Valence was measured based on how the news depiction of China appears to
common Americans. Positive is coded as 3, neutral as 2 and negative as 1. Positive
news associates China with progress, growth, prosperity, strength, stability, security
and trustworthiness; for example, a robust growth in GDP and the praise or support
of Chinas policy is regarded as positive to China. When the news associates China
with unreliability, untrustworthiness, weakness, instability, insecurity, danger, retreat
and inefficiency, it is coded as negative; for example, violent demonstrations, political
corruption or criticisms of Chinas human rights record would be coded as negative.
News that is balanced between positive and negative, or hard to determine for
valence, falls into the neutral category.
Considering the enormous amount of coverage and limited resources, not all
articles were coded for prominence and valence. Every fifth article from the New York
Times and every fourth from the Washington Post were randomly selected. Given the
relatively small amount of coverage of China in USA Today, when the amount of
coverage was less than 10, all articles were selected; otherwise, every second article was
selected. In total, 1,412 news articles were coded for prominence and valence. News
topic was also recorded for each selected article, and the coding scheme was adopted
from Shoemaker and Cohens (2006) study, News Around the World.
Two American graduate students were hired to do the coding. About 10% of the
articles were first coded by both coders to assure intercoder reliability, and the rest
were split between them. Calculated by the software PRAM, the intercoder reliability
for length and placement is 1, .94 for valence (Pearson correlation coefficient),
and .86 for topic (Scotts Pi).

Results
Descriptive statistics
Chinas political freedom was rated as low as 2.86, with 2 representing the least
freedom. The average level of Chinas exports to the US is 150% more than the
value of Chinas imports from the US, and US direct investment is 10 times higher
than Chinas direct investment in the US. On average, China has signed 26 public
relations-related contracts with the US each year, and spent over $3 million on
them.
Based on the 1,412 randomly selected news articles coded, news stories about
China have an average length of 721 words, are usually not front-page or section-
front stories (M 1.29, SD .65), and often carry a slightly negative tone toward
China (M 1.76, SD .82). Overall, Americans average favorability perception of
China leans slightly toward the negative side (M 2.85, SD .26).
In order to visualize the trend of development of the key variables in the study,
Figure 2 shows the ups and downs of Americans overall favorability perception of
China over the years. The years 1979 and 1989 (before the Tiananmen Square
protest) are the two peak points when Americans held the most favorable opinions
toward China, whereas after the Tiananmen Square crackdown there is a huge
drop in favorability score. Figure 3 (see page 12) illustrates the amount, valence and
prominence of news coverage China received in the three US newspapers three
 Chinese Journal of Communication 11

Americans' overall favorability

perception of China
79

.2

91

96

98

.3

.1

02

04

06
.1
89

99

00
19

19

19

19

20

20

20
00
19

19

20

20
Figure 2. Americans opinion of China over the years. Note: Americans overall favorability
perception of China 5 * % Americans who hold very favorable opinion of China 4 * %
Americans who hold mostly favorable opinion 3 * % Americans who hold no opinion
2 * % Americans who hold mostly unfavorable opinion 1 * % Americans who hold
very unfavorable opinion. Data shown in the figure are standardized Z-score values for each
poll.

months before each public opinion poll. There is a large jump in the number of
articles about China during the Tiananmen Square protest and in 1998. As for
valence of news coverage, 1989 seems to be the turning point in US media coverage
of China. The three US newspapers had the most negative coverage of China during
the months of the Tiananmen Square protest.
As for news topics, issues of international politics (24.8%), business/activities
(19.7%), internal order (12.9%), internal politics (10.9%), economy (4.6%), and
health/welfare/social services (3.6%) were the six most covered topics in the three US
newspapers, accounting for over three quarters of the total press coverage.

Multivariate analysis and hypothesis testing

As variables were measured in different units and scales, they were standardized and
saved as new variables before conducting the multivariate analysis. Given the high
correlation among the five economic indicators and to avoid multicollinearity, a
composite index economic strength was constructed by adding the standardized
values together. The reliability analysis showed that Cronbachs alpha for the index
was .89.
Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses by
entering country characteristics, public relations efforts and media coverage block by
block. Given the small sample size (N 22), p # .10 is marked as significant in the
analysis.

H1: Effect of Chinas political and economic development on media coverage

Data in the first block of Table 1 (see page 13) indicate that neither economic strength
nor political freedom shows a significant effect on the amount and prominence of
news coverage, whereas political freedom is significant in predicting the valence of
news coverage in the US media three months before the opinion poll. During the
12 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

Amountof media coverage

79

.2

91

96

98

.3

.1

02

04

06
.1
89

99

00
19

19

19

19

20

20

20
00
19

19

20

20
Valence of media coverage
79

.2

91

96

98

.3

.1

02

04

06
.1
89

99

00
19

19

19

19

20

20

20
00
19

19

20

20
Prominence of media coverage
79

.2

91

96

98

.3

.1

02

04

06
.1
89

99

00
19

19

19

19

20

20

20
00
19

19

20

20

Figure 3. Amount, valence and prominence of coverage of China in the US media 3 months
before each public opinion poll. Note: Data shown in the figure are standardized Z-score
values.

years when Chinas political freedom was rated higher, China was covered more
positively in the US media. Therefore, Hypothesis 1 is partially supported.

H2: Effect of Chinas public relations effort on media coverage

Hypothesis 2 is only partially supported. As data in the second block of Table 1
indicate, the number of public relations-related contracts China has signed with the
US shows a significant effect on the valence of coverage China receives in the US
media. However, neither of the public relations variables predicts the amount and
prominence of news coverage.
 Chinese Journal of Communication 13

Table 1. Hierarchical regression analysis of country characteristics and public relations efforts
on the amount, valence and prominence of coverage China receives in the US media 3 months
prior to the public opinion poll (N 22).

Amount of coverage

Blocks of independent variables Std. Beta R2 change Total R2 Adj. R2

1. Country characteristics
- Economic strength .29
- Political freedom 2.48a .16 .16 .06
2. Public relations efforts
- # PR contracts .50
- $ PR contracts .35 .22 .38 .16

Valence of coverage

Blocks of independent variables Std. Beta R 2 change Total R 2 Adj. R 2

1. Country characteristics
- Economic strength 2.01
- Political freedom .43a .30b .30b .21
2. Public relations efforts
- # PR contracts .52a
- $ PR contracts 2.85 .18 .48a .29

Prominence of coverage

Blocks of independent variables Std. Beta R 2 change Total R 2 Adj. R 2

1. Country characteristics
- Economic strength .25
- Political freedom 2.27 .11 .11 .01
2. Public relations efforts
- # PR contracts .06
- $ PR contracts .96 .21 .32 .07

Note: Standardized betas are from the final model.

a
p # .10; bp # .05.

H3: Effect of Chinas political and economic development on public opinion

Data in the first block of Table 2 show that Hypothesis 3 is supported. Political
freedom is significant in predicting Americans opinions toward China, with more
political freedom leading to more favorable perception.

H4: Effect of Chinas public relations effort on public opinion

Hypothesis 4 is not supported. As is shown in the second block of Table 2, neither of
the public relations variables was significant in predicting Americans opinions of
China when taking the effect of Chinas economic development and political freedom
into consideration.
14 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

Table 2. Hierarchical regression analysis of country characteristics, public relations efforts and
media coverage 3 months prior to the opinion poll on Americans favorability perception of
China (N 22).

Americans favorability perception of China

Blocks of independent variables Std. Beta R2 change Total R2 Adj. R2

1. Country characteristics
- Economic strength 2.72
- Political freedom .64b .37b .37b .29
2. Public relations effort
- # PR contracts 2.87
- $ PR contracts .35 .10 .47a .28
3. Media coverage
- Coverage amount .24
- Coverage valence .56a
- Coverage prominence .14 .15 .62a .34

Note: Standardized betas are from the final model.

a
p # .10; bp # .05.

H5: Effect of media coverage on opinions toward China

Hypothesis 5 is supported. As is shown in the third block of Table 2, the valence of
coverage is significant in predicting Americans favorability perception of China.
Figure 4 summarizes the results of hypotheses testing in the theoretical model,
with Chinas country characteristics, public relations efforts and US media coverage
all taken into consideration at the same time.

Discussion
This study examines the effect of Chinas political and economic characteristics and
public relations efforts on the US medias coverage of China, as well as Americans

Political
freedom
+.64b
.48a

Economic
factors +.43a Coverage
amount Americans
favorability
Coverage +.56a perception of
+.52a valence China
# PR contracts
with the US
Coverage
prominence
$ PR contracts
with the US

Figure 4. Summary of hypotheses tested in the study. a p # .10; b

p # .05.
 Chinese Journal of Communication 15

opinions of China in the past 30 years. Higher levels of political freedom are related to
more positive coverage and perception of China. More public relations contracts
signed with the US are also linked to more positive news coverage, which again
predicts Americans favorability perception.
In accordance with previous studies, media coverage is significant in predicting
public opinion of China, even when taking into account the effect of country
characteristics and public relations efforts. This signifies the power of mass media to
influence public opinion. Since most Americans lack direct experience with China,
they rely on information from news media to make their judgments. When China is
covered more positively in the US media, Americans tend to hold more favorable
opinions toward it, while negative coverage may make them perceive China in an
unfavorable light.
In the study, Chinas political freedom shows a positive effect on the valence of
news coverage and Americans favorability perception of China. Given that the
United States is a democratic country that embraces freedom, a freer China enables
US media professionals to cover the country as less politically different and therefore
less threatening, which further leads Americans to view China more positively. This
aligns to some extent with the international relations theory of soft power, defined as
the attractiveness of a countrys cultures, values and policies (Nye, 2004). In Soft
Power: The Means to Success in World Politics, Nye (2004) emphasizes the
importance of soft power in influencing foreign public opinion, although he also
mentions the effect of hard power a countrys economic and military might. As
shown in this study, Chinas growing economic strength shows no effect on
Americans favorability perception, while the soft side political freedom is highly
significant.
The nonsignificant effect of Chinas economic strength on news coverage and
public opinion is inconsistent with some previous studies, which found that a
countrys economic strength positively predicts news coverage (Chang, 1998; Wu,
2000) and Americans opinion toward foreign countries (Wang, 2008). However,
given that the China threat theory has been pervasive in American political discourse
since the 1990s, this finding appears logical. On one hand, China and the US share
close economic ties and are highly interdependent (Kang, 2007; Kurlantzick, 2007);
on the other hand, there are real differences in culture, ideology and political system
between the nations, and a fast-growing China is viewed as a potential threat to the
United States, not only economically but also ideologically and strategically
(Broomfield, 2003). With this contradictory feeling toward Chinas fast-growing
economy, it is not surprising that Chinas economic strength shows no significant
effect on US news coverage and Americans favorability perception of China.
Another explanation of the nonsignificant effect of economic development on
media coverage may lie in the decline of US media resources devoted to foreign news
coverage, which would reduce the amount and prominence of international news
coverage and counteract the effect of Chinas economic development. In addition, the
rise of information technologies and specific online resources such as blogs and social
networking sites has greatly expanded the reach of media and changed the way media
organizations collect and publish news, which in turn may also influence the amount
and prominence of international news coverage in US newspapers.
In this longitudinal study, the number of public relations contracts did
significantly and positively affect the valence of coverage, even when considering the
16 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

effect of country characteristics, while the amount of money spent on public relations
contracts seemed less relevant and effective. This suggests that many smaller
campaigns may be preferable to larger, more expensive ones. More campaigns give
the media more chance to cover diverse sources and stories, and thus countries may
prefer to plan their public relations campaigns in a systematic way, with more small-
scale projects rather than fewer, more expensive ones.
Neither of the public relations variables showed a significant direct effect on
Americans opinions toward other countries. This may be because the mass media
acts as a filter and mediator for public relations efforts. Three other reasons may
explain the nonsignificant effect. First, almost all public relations contracts are issue-
specific; they may share a common goal, but do not have a unified strategy and are not
planned and conducted in a systematic way.
Second, many public relations contracts are immediate responses to crises,
targeted at short-term results rather than overall image issues. As with the recent
Chinese product recall, the main purpose of the Chinese governments public
relations effort was to send out positive messages to American consumers.
Third, and arguably most importantly, public opinion evolves gradually and
often in a convoluted fashion, and change cannot be accomplished in a short time.
Even the most effective public relations campaigns cannot be expected to alter
attitudes in months. Therefore, governments must consider public relations a long-
term commitment to building and maintaining relationships between countries.
One can easily see that Sino US diplomatic relations play an important role in
influencing media coverage of China and Americans opinions of China. The two
points when Americans held the most favorable opinions of China (Figure 2)
coincided with two milestones in the history of Sino US relations: the two countries
establishing a formal diplomatic relationship from 1 January 1979, and President
George H. W. Bushs formal visit to China in February 1989.
US media coverage of China was also influenced by bilateral relations and real-
world events, especially political crises. The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and
President Bill Clintons visit to China in 1998 both generated a large amount of
coverage of China in the US media, the former covering China in a negative light and
the latter in a relatively positive one. The most positive coverage of China in the US
media was found in 1979, when the newly-established formal relationship between the
countries resulted in a honeymoon period of sorts. The most negative coverage of
China in the US media was found during the Tiananmen Square protests.
With the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the emergence of the China
threat theory in the 1990s, many American elites began to see China less as an ally and
partner, and more as a potential economic and political challenger. As a result, mass
media have tended to follow and reinforce these views to the American public, further
framing American opinion.
Given the effect of mass media on public opinion, Chinas public relations effort
needs to broaden the number of news topics covered in the US media by lowering the
proportion of coverage afforded to politics, and increasing the coverage of cultural,
entertainment and human interest stories. Based on this studys content analysis data
half the news stories about China in the three newspapers deal with international
politics, internal politics and internal order. In addition to news, China should try to
increase Americans exposure to Chinese popular culture, such as movies and
television programming, which may help shift views of China from political
 Chinese Journal of Communication 17

differences toward cultural affinities, thus giving Americans a richer and more
complete picture of modern China.
Aside from mass media, tourism and mutual exchange programs can be an
effective image-building strategy. Previous studies have found that peoples travel
experiences in foreign countries have a positive effect on their opinions of the
countries (Wang, Shoemaker, Han, & Storm, 2008). Place branding expert Anholt
(2007, p. 25) also asserts that tourism promotion can be the loudest voice and the
most effective way to brand a nation.
Most previous studies focus either on the effect of country characteristics and
public relations efforts on media coverage or on the medias effect on public opinion.
This study combines the two approaches, thus giving a more complete picture of how
public opinion of foreign countries can be shaped. The study also provides empirical
evidence for Nyes (2004) theory on soft power, showing that soft power is more
effective at winning the hearts and minds of foreign publics, which has practical
implications for governments and public relations practitioners. For countries with
differences in political, economic and cultural systems, the best way to influence
foreign public opinion is to increase mutual understanding and tolerance of
differences through positive media messages, and to encourage more cultural,
educational and business exchange between the two countries.
No study is perfect. Future studies should construct better indices to fully measure
such broad and complicated concepts as economic development and political
freedom. As travel and tourism advertising play an increasingly important role in
nation branding (Anholt, 2007), future studies should analyze the content of tourism
advertising in addition to news about other countries. In addition, in-depth interviews
and case studies on large public relations campaigns should be conducted to
supplement the findings of this study.

Notes
1. Detailed information about the Pew Global Attitude Survey can be obtained at http://
pewglobal.org/.
2. In 1983, a Soviet Air Force fighter jet shot down Korean Air Lines (KAL) Flight 007,
killing 269 people; in 1988, a US Navy ship shot down Iran Air Flight 655, killing 290
people.
3. Political freedom refers to the political rights and individual liberties the country offers to
its citizens.
4. Data were retrieved from the website of The Office of Chinese Language International
Council: http://www.hanban.edu.cn/cn_hanban/kzxy_list.php?ithd gzky.
5. In 2007, many products made in China were recalled in the US market, including pet food,
toothpaste and childrens toys. Media reports of these recalls led American consumers to
panic and be scared of Chinese products, which also damaged Chinas image in the United
States.
6. Some data were directly collected from the website of Chinas National Bureau of
Statistics: www.stats.gov.cn.
7. Titled Yearbook of Chinas Foreign Economic Relations and Trade before 2004.
8. Since USA Today was founded in 1982, articles from that newspaper were used beginning
on that date.
9. Peking, the former name of Beijing, was used as the search keyword for the late 1970s and
early 1980s news articles.
18 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

References
Albritton, R.B., & Manheim, J.B. (1985). Public relations effects for the Third World: Images
in the news. Journal of Communication, 35, 43 59.
Anholt, S. (2007). Competitive identity: The new brand management for nations, cities and
regions. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Atwater, T., Fico, F., & Pizante, G. (1987). Reporting on the state legislature: A case study of
inter-media agenda-setting. Newspaper Research Journal, 8(2), 52 61.
Benton, M., & Frazier, P.J. (1976). The agenda setting function of the mass media at three levels
of information holding. Communication Research, 3, 261 274.
Boulding, K.E. (1959). National images and international systems. The Journal of Conflict
Resolution, 3, 120 131.
Brewer, P.R., Graf, J., & Willnat, L. (2003). Priming or framing: Media influence on attitudes
toward foreign countries. Gazette: The International Journal for Communication Studies,
65, 493 508.
Broomfield, E.V. (2003). Perceptions of danger: The China threat theory. Journal of
Contemporary China, 12, 265 284.
Buchanan, W., & Cantril, H. (1953). How nations see each other: A study in public opinion.
Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Cha, A.E. (2007, July 14). After silence, China mounts product safety PR offensive. The
Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.Washingtonpost.com/wp/dyn/content/
article/2007/07/13/AR2007071302010.html
Chang, T.K. (1998). All countries not created equal to be news: World systems and
international communication. Communication Research, 25, 528 563.
Chang, T.K., Shoemaker, P.J., & Brendlinger, N. (1987). Determinants of international news
coverage in the U.S. media. Communication Research, 14, 396 414.
Charles, J., Shore, L., & Todd, R. (1979). The New York Times coverage of equatorial and
lower Africa, Journal of Communication, 29, 148 155.
Cutlip, S.M., Center, A.H., & Broom, G.M. (2000). Effective public relations (8th ed.).
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Danielian, L.H., & Reese, S.D. (1989). A closer look at intermedia influences on agenda setting:
The cocaine issue of 1986. In P.J. Shoemaker (Ed.), Communication campaigns about
drugs: Government, media, and the public (pp. 47 66). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
dAstous, A., & Ahmed, S.A. (1999). The importance of country images in the formation of
consumer product perceptions. International Marketing Review, 16, 108 125.
Dupree, J.D. (1971). International communication: View from A window on the world.
Gazette, 17, 224 235.
Entman, R.M. (2004). Projections of power: Framing news, public opinion, and U.S. foreign
policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Galtung, J., & Ruge, M.H. (1965). The structure of foreign news: The presentation of the
Congo, Cuba and Cyprus crises in four Norwegian newspapers. Journal of Peace
Research, 2, 64 91.
Gill, B., & Huang, Y. (2006). Sources and limits of Chinese soft power. Survival, 48(2),
17 36.
Holsti, O.R. (2004). Public opinion and American foreign policy. Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press.
Huntington, S.P. (1993). The clash of civilizations? Foreign Affairs, 72(3), 22 49.
Ishii, K. (1996). Is the U.S. over-reported in the Japanese press? Gazette, 57, 135 144.
Iyengar, S., & Kinder, D.R. (1987). News that matters: Television and American opinion.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Johnson, M.A. (2004). Five decades of Mexican public relations in the United States: From
propaganda to strategic counsel. Public Relations Review, 31, 11 20.
 Chinese Journal of Communication 19

Kang, D.C. (2007). China rising: Peace, power, and order in East Asia. New York, NY:
Columbia University Press.
Kim, K., & Barnett, G.A. (1996). The determinants of international news flow: A network
analysis. Communication Research, 23, 323352.
Kunczik, M. (1997). Images of nations and international public relations. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kurlantzick, J. (2007). Charm offensive: How Chinas soft power is transforming the world. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Lee, J., & Berkowitz, D. (2004). Third gatekeeping in Korea: The screening of first-edition
newspapers by public relations practitioners. Public Relations Review, 30, 313325.
Lee, S. (2006). An analysis of other countries international public relations in the US, Public
Relations Review, 32, 97 103.
Lee, S. (2007). International public relations as a predictor of prominence of U.S. news
coverage. Public Relations Review, 33, 158165.
Lippmann, W. (1922). Public opinion. New York, NY: Free Press.
Manheim, J.B. (1994). Strategic public diplomacy and foreign policy. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Manheim, J.B., & Albritton, R.B. (1984). Changing national images: International public
relations and media agenda setting. The American Political Science Review, 78, 641 657.
Nincic, M., & Russett, B. (1979). The effect of similarity and interest on attitudes toward
foreign countries. Public Opinion Quarterly, 43, 68 78.
Nye, J.S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. New York, NY: Public
Affairs.
Perez-Pena, R. (2010, January 10). Study finds that papers lead in providing new information.
New York Times, p. 89. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/
media/11baltimore.html
Perry, D.K. (1985). The mass media and inference about other nations. Communication
Research, 12, 595 614.
Price, V. (1992). Communication concept 4: Public opinion. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Reese, S.D., Gandy, O., & Grant, A. (Eds.). (2001). Framing public life: Perspectives on media
and our understanding of the social world. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rosengren, K.E. (1977). Four types of tables. Journal of Communication, 27, 67 75.
Scheufele, D.A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution
of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 57, 9 20.
Scott, D. (2007). China stands up: The PRC and the international system. New York, NY:
Routledge.
Shoemaker, P.J., & Cohen, A.A. (2006). News around the world: Content, practitioners, and the
public. New York, NY: Routledge.
Shoemaker, P.J., & Reese, S.D. (1996). Mediating the message: Theories of influences on mass
media content (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Longman.
Sobel, R. (2001). The impact of public opinion on U.S. foreign policy since Vietnam. New York,
NY: Oxford University Press.
Soroka, S.N. (2003). Media, public opinion and foreign policy. Press/Politics, 8(1), 27 48.
Stone, G.C., & McCombs, M.E. (1981). Tracing the time lag in agenda-setting. Journalism
Quarterly, 58, 151 155.
Tuch, H.N. (1990). Communicating with the world. New York, NY: St. Martins Press.
Wang, X. (2008, May). Winning American hearts and minds: Country characteristics, public
relations, and mass media. Paper presented in the public relations division at the annual
conference of Internal Communication Association, Montreal, Canada.
Wang, X., Shoemaker, P.J., Han, G., & Storm, E.J. (2008). Images of nations in the eyes of
American educational elites. American Journal of Media Psychology, 1, 36 60.
20 Xiuli Wang and Pamela J. Shoemaker

Wanta, W., Golan, G., & Lee, C. (2004). Agenda setting and international news: Media
influence on public perceptions of foreign nations. Journalism and Mass Communication
Quarterly, 81, 364 377.
Wanta, W., & Hu, Y.-W. (1993). The agenda-setting effect of international news coverage: An
examination of differing news frames. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 5,
250 264.
Willnat, L., Graf, J., & Brewer, P.R. (2000, August). Priming international affairs: How the
media influence attitudes toward foreign nations. Paper presented at the Annual
Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication,
Phoenix, AZ.
Wu, H.D. (2000). Systemic determinants of international news coverage: A comparison of 38
countries. Journal of Communication, 50, 110 130.
Zhang, J., & Cameron, G.T. (2003). Chinas agenda building and image polishing in the US:
Assessing an international public relations campaign. Public Relations Review, 29, 13 28.
Copyright of Chinese Journal of Communication is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied
or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.