And on the heritage front, Ford hopes to capitalize on what it says is an actual brand image in China, based in part on TV images of U.S. presidential limousines through the years as well as the Lincoln Continental that former President Richard Nixon brought with him on his historic visit to China in 1972.
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Since returning from China another image has begun to recur alongside the Beijing water calligrapher.
Admirers say Yao has done more for improving China's image overseas than any modern-day politician or diplomat.
In a move to enhance its image among sports fans in China, Wahaha in January said it would become the official beverage partner of the Manchester United soccer team in the country.
Polishing China's global image is a priority for a country that craves the international respect it feels it deserves as the world's second largest economy.
China's self-image as a responsible great power was also on show, however, with a large new hospital ship, useful for humanitarian missions.
Bulk ships are the mirror image of container ships: they sail for China fully laden and return nearly empty.
"There's no question that China is very sensitive to its image, " said Stanley Rosen, an expert on the Chinese film industry, and director of the East Asian Studies Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
The government hopes to steer China's economy--and its image--away from dirty factories and toward global brands and high-tech outfits.
Mr. Samit: The big guys who were out there 10 years ago worked peer-to-peer, so if you did a business call with someone in China they didn't really care if the image froze up every few seconds.
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China is its second-largest market after the U.S. so image and reputation matter greatly.
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With his "Kung Fu Panda" movies, Jeffrey Katzenberg offered American audiences a cuddly Chinese icon to love, and won the hearts of China's cultural czars, who are eager to soften the country's image in the world.
The waste from manufacturing has raised concerns within the industry, which fears that the problem, if left unchecked, could undermine solar's green image at a time when companies are facing stiff competition from each other and from low-cost panel manufacturers from China and elsewhere.
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