Chinese National Image and Global Leadership

This chapter looks at the national image that President Xi Jinping is attempting to project on the world stage vis-à-vis China’s global interactions. By studying Xi’s speeches, this chapter identifies the ways China tries to distinguish itself from the West in the space of domestic governance and the extent to which these ideas reflect the Chinese political worldview and belief in Chinese exceptionalism. Three main themes form the key narratives of both the promoted national image of China and Chinese exceptionalism, namely: (I) the “Chinese dream” and image of China as a flourishing civilization; (II) a progressive and peaceful China; and (III) China as a moral example which should be internationally emulated.