Does Japanese FDI grow negative media coverage of China in ASEAN?

 SEA Globe

Aug. 28, 2020

While common perceptions suggest that Japan’s influence in Southeast Asian geopolitics is dwarfed by China, recent research finds that wherever Japanese foreign direct investment outstrips Chinese, local media more often reports critically on Beijing.

Analysis of the local media was conducted at Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, California. Our team of computer scientists calculated the average emotional tone of over 175,000 news articles published by the local press about Chinese activities in countries across Southeast Asia to capture local opinions. 

Opinions in Asia matter for China. Severe division in Southeast Asia creates obstacles for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that aims to reinvigorate ancient trade routes. 

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