“CHINESE PACIFICISM?” EXPLORING CHINESE NEWS MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES

Authors

Shuo Luan, Beijing Foreign Studies University

Abstract

China has ramped up its engagement with Pacific Island countries and established itself as a major cooperative partner and assistance provider. However, the Pacific Islands remain a blind spot for many Chinese people, whose perceptions of island countries are inevitably shaped by dominant discourses at home. Although island countries are aware of China’s growing presence, they are largely uninformed about their images circulated in China. This article seeks to fill this gap by exploring Chinese news media representations of Pacific Island countries. It argues that Chinese news media paint a broad and superficial portrait of island countries because of the great caution exercised in political news and the intention of promoting China’s image and contributions. The representations have not brought “Chinese Pacificism” into being. Instead, from the perspectives of China, geopolitics, or the Pacific, they pivot around the ideas of development and progress and mainly manifest as the projection of Chinese values and interests onto foreign and insular places.

Recommended Citation

Luan, Shuo (2022) "“CHINESE PACIFICISM?” EXPLORING CHINESE NEWS MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 45: No. 2, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol45/iss2/3