South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.

How does the South China Sea issue affect China's image in Southeast Asian countries? Has it diminished Southeast Asian countries' perception of China? Based on the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT) from 2010 to 2024, this study empirically examines the impact of the So...

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Main Authors: Zibo Wei, Xuan Chen, Genli Tang, Yishuai Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323218
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author Zibo Wei
Xuan Chen
Genli Tang
Yishuai Xie
author_facet Zibo Wei
Xuan Chen
Genli Tang
Yishuai Xie
author_sort Zibo Wei
collection DOAJ
description How does the South China Sea issue affect China's image in Southeast Asian countries? Has it diminished Southeast Asian countries' perception of China? Based on the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT) from 2010 to 2024, this study empirically examines the impact of the South China Sea issue on Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image using a panel multiple linear regression model. The empirical results show a significant positive correlation between the South China Sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image. Specifically, the positive impact of verbal events, material events, and the scale of events related to the South China Sea significantly enhances the positive evaluation and recognition of China among Southeast Asian countries. Additionally, GDP plays a moderating role in this process, weakening the positive impact of verbal events, factual events, and the scale of South China Sea events on China's positive evaluation and recognition. In Southeast Asian countries with territorial disputes and sovereignty conflicts with China, the influence of factual events and the scale of South China Sea events on the perception of China's image is more pronounced. In contrast, in Southeast Asian countries without such disputes, verbal events have a more significant impact on their perception of China's image.
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spelling doaj-art-4a09bba86bd442b9b0a272ec4699fddf2025-08-20T02:33:44ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01205e032321810.1371/journal.pone.0323218South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.Zibo WeiXuan ChenGenli TangYishuai XieHow does the South China Sea issue affect China's image in Southeast Asian countries? Has it diminished Southeast Asian countries' perception of China? Based on the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT) from 2010 to 2024, this study empirically examines the impact of the South China Sea issue on Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image using a panel multiple linear regression model. The empirical results show a significant positive correlation between the South China Sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image. Specifically, the positive impact of verbal events, material events, and the scale of events related to the South China Sea significantly enhances the positive evaluation and recognition of China among Southeast Asian countries. Additionally, GDP plays a moderating role in this process, weakening the positive impact of verbal events, factual events, and the scale of South China Sea events on China's positive evaluation and recognition. In Southeast Asian countries with territorial disputes and sovereignty conflicts with China, the influence of factual events and the scale of South China Sea events on the perception of China's image is more pronounced. In contrast, in Southeast Asian countries without such disputes, verbal events have a more significant impact on their perception of China's image.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323218
spellingShingle Zibo Wei
Xuan Chen
Genli Tang
Yishuai Xie
South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.
PLoS ONE
title South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.
title_full South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.
title_fullStr South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.
title_full_unstemmed South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.
title_short South China sea issue and Southeast Asian countries' perception of China's image: An empirical study based on GDELT big data.
title_sort south china sea issue and southeast asian countries perception of china s image an empirical study based on gdelt big data
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323218
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AT genlitang southchinaseaissueandsoutheastasiancountriesperceptionofchinasimageanempiricalstudybasedongdeltbigdata
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