The visual politics of Brand China: Exceptional history and speculative future

As a global power, China is a provocative case study for nation branding practitioners and scholars. It is mired in a contested process of global image-making animated by Western media headlines, often negative ones, which draw the ire of the country’s Foreign Ministry and its ripostes. Into the fray are also self-representations, or nation branding moments, that disseminate idealized visions of the country. This paper dissects two such promotional events: an art exhibit and a science fiction blockbuster through visual and narrative analysis. It considers how cultural diplomacy, political ideology, and visuality coalesce to engender images of the nation, punctuated by the country’s prized cultural values and global political yearnings. Rather than examining official branding campaigns, this study is grounded in the liminal space of popular culture where there is state oversight, and yet, also some creative freedom. The findings point to two time-related themes and visual strategies that showcase the country through its distinct dynastic past and through anticipatory spectacles of its hoped-for future. These serve as a harbinger of nationalistic visions to come. An understanding of this time-sensibility and visuality of Brand China yields a keener sense of how the country reinforces itself as a global leader.