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 South China...

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Published in:PloS one Vol. 20; no. 5; p. e0323218
Main Authors: Wei, Zibo, Chen, Xuan, Tang, Genli, Xie, Yishuai
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 27.05.2025
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Analysis
Attitudes
Beliefs, opinions and attitudes
Biology and Life Sciences
Boundary disputes
Cognition & reasoning
Cooperation
Cultural heritage
Economic development
Empirical analysis
Influence
International relations
Maritime law
News media
People and Places
Perception
Perceptions
Public opinion
Recognition
Regression models
Social perception
Social Sciences
Southeast Asians
Southeast Asia
China
South China Sea
Vietnam
Cambodia
United States > US
Philippines
ISSN:1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary: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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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0323218