Cross-cultural Empathic Communication of National Image: Analysis of International Communication Strategies and Effects of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games

Abstract

With the advent of the international communication era, the multidimensionality of national image and the complexity of audience perception have become the real challenges facing national image communication. This paper compares the theoretical lineage and mechanism of national image and cross-cultural empathy communication, and points out that cross-cultural empathy communication, which pays more attention to audience characteristics and appeals to emotional empathy, can be a breakthrough in national image construction. The study specifies the cross-cultural empathy communication model of national image. Based on the international communication practices during the Beijing Winter (Paralympic) Games, this paper shows that the communicators of the Beijing Winter (Paralympic) Games mainly adopted communication strategies such as constructing multidimensional images for multiple subjects, deepening emotional identification, creative expressions to enhance interactive fun, and deepening emotions and cognition, which formed a new shared cultural space through the empathetic feedback and interaction of international audiences.