Jean Monnet Chair Speakers Series:“Macao Talk on European Politics”-The Images of China in Europe

Li ZHANG is Associate Professor and Director of Institute of Public Relations and Strategic Communication at the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, China. She holds a PhD in International Communication from the University of Leeds, the UK and is Fellow of Higher Education Academy, the UK. Before joining Tsinghua, she had held a permanent academic position at the University of East Anglia, the UK and supervised PhD students toward completion. Her research interests include the role of media in international relations, media and politics, public relations and strategic communication. She is the author of News Media and EU-China Relations (Palgrave Macmillan 2011) and her publications appear in JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, Journal of Contemporary China, Asia Europe Journal, Baltic Journal of European Studies, and Journal of International Communication, among others.

Abstract:

In international relations, media communication has played an increasingly important role. Scholars argue that the procedures of communication narratives can help to explain the major dynamics in international affairs. This seminar focuses on exploring the media narratives of China in Europe during the past few years. Through examining the representation of China in six European media outlets from the UK, France, and Germany, it finds that there is a growing interest in China’s foreign policies from the European media. Moreover, the interpretations of China in the European media under examination seem to point to different directions and the narratives of China’s role in international politics is very much mixed with disparities between the British, French and German media.