For your eyes only: James Bond’s secret China mission

All the while, Bond’s assignments are aimed at ensuring the physical safety, resource security, and geopolitical standing of Britain and its closest allies, most usually the United States. And while Bond frequently is set against megalomaniacs who lack official nationalities or affiliations, the reputations of other countries often become part of the collateral damage. This was most obvious during the Bond films’ treatment of the USSR during the cold war period – so concerned were the Soviets’ at their portrayal that they produced a novel directly pitting a Communist spy against the evil imperialist. Bond’s international influence remains to this day. It is not for nothing that Mexico reportedly offered Sony Pictures and MGM up to US$20 million in tax incentives to change the script of Spectre to cast the country in a positive light.