COVID-19, American Influence, and Economic Relations: An Empirical Analysis of China's Image in the European Union

ABSTRACT

As one of the major powers at the center of the global landscape, it is natural that China attaches great importance to its national image worldwide. COVID-19, which was first reported in Wuhan, has put China at the center of attention and controversies. The unprecedented pandemic and the strains of the relations with the United States, accentuated under the Trump Administration, have started to show consequences on China's relations with the rest of the world, especially with Western countries. In the context of an increasingly severe US–China strategic competition and the pandemic, China tries to strengthen its economic relations with Europe to cope with the constraints of the United States. In this chapter, we focus on an examination of how COVID-19, bilateral economic ties, and Americans' views shape China's image in EU countries. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.