THEY CALLED US A THREAT! : IMAGES OF JAPAN AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF CHINESE IDENTITY IN SINO-JAPANESE RELATIONS

Abstract

Why is it that Sino-Japanese relations have not thawed despite their growing economic interdependence? This paper tries to understand this puzzle from an identity construction perspective. I argue that, within the context of official Chinese responses to the Japanese Defense White Paper 2011, Chinese officials have constructed a reactive national identity of the Chinese state as a leader to the Japanese state. Reactive identity can be briefly understood as state roles and symbols that are created by Chinese officials in response to a perceived hostile international environment that they wish to be part of. This paper uses discourse analysis to try to understand the leadership identity that arises from the Chinese officials' responses and hopefully suggest some new avenues in looking at Sino-Japanese relations.