ABSTRACT
The focus of this chapter is on the national identity of contemporary China, a research topic that, surprisingly, remains almost entirely unaddressed in the literature of identity studies in bilingual advertising. Attention here is shifted to sociopolitical underpinnings on the language choice of English and identity politics in relation to major themes of national identity of contemporary China being constructed. The discourse of China’s national identity, it was found, is a skillfully crafted product of dialogic conversation, assimilation and accommodation, which is being constantly refined and redefined. The complicated ways observed in which English is used in the construction of national identity are connected to the intricacies of ideological tensions that run through the construction process.
