Internationalization and New Coutry Image: China^s Sport Diplomacy in 1980s
Chuansong Huo (a*), Yuhuan Li (b)

a*) School of Foreign Languages, Chengdu Sport University, No.2 Tiyuan Road, Chengdu 610041, China
*monty_huo[at]cdsu.edu.cn
b) English Teaching Group, Beixin Experimental Primary School, No. 158 Zidong Road, Chengdu 610000, China

Abstract

This is a stage in which China has emerged and participated deeply in the international arena and sought the status of a regional power under the background of reform and opening up. It is also the first step that sports diplomacy helps China move towards internationalization and establish a new image. In the new international and domestic situation, sports diplomacy reflects China^s new diplomatic strategies and political demands. The threat posed to China by the Soviet Union^s invasion of Afghanistan and the continuation of the ^Uniting the USA against the Soviet Union^ strategy in the 1970s made China boycott the Moscow Olympic Games with the United States. At the same time, through sports exchanges and mutual support in the Asian Games and the Olympic Games, China and the ROK broke the communication barrier and laid a solid foundation for the formal establishment of diplomatic relations in the early 1990s. Under the guidance of the realistic and pragmatic work thought and the appeal of national prosperity and rise, ^breaking out of Asia and going to the world^ has become a concentrated reflection of the deep connection between the achievements of international sports and the modernization drive, China was decisive to removed the image of ^sick man of East Asia^ with excellent achievements in international sports events. Under this background, China began to devote itself to the construction of a new national image and soft power, gradually shifting from active participation to active hosting, and the awareness of undertaking international affairs and major country responsibility began to sprout. The 1990 Beijing Asian Games is not only a milestone connecting the past and the future of China^s sports, but also a concentrated embodiment of China^s social development in the 1980s. Its success does not only lay the foundation for China^s status as a regional power, but also opened up the process of China^s further internationalization and exploration of its status as a rising world power.

Keywords: sports diplomacy- country image- soft power- foreign strategy of China

Topic: Sport, international relations, and diplomacy