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Li Zhang

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The paper studies how China is aiming to enhance its soft power across the world
through projections of its culture and values using the media and foreign policy.
China is using soft power as a tool to attract and portray a great image of its
country on international level. The author has tried to link soft power, news
media and foreign relations together. and has shown china͛s rise, its significance
and involvement in international affairs.

The author in this paper discusses the news media and China͛s national image as
well as the relationship between the news media and policy-making before going
on to examine the nature of Western media coverage of China. It then
investigates the role of the media coverage of a rising China image in
transforming China͛s international relations.The author further says that China
has gradually involved the international political and economic systems.The rise
of China as an emerging great power has now been widely observed and
recognized across the globe.

Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been used in the research.
The paper is based on primary and secondary data. Personal interviews and
analysis of the author are utilized to support the argument. The evidence is from
western sources such as analysts, journals and articles as well as from china. This
study shows that china is improving her image through social, economic, business
and ethnic implications in world politics. The government͚s policies, activities,
their actions on international issues are shown on global level.The behavior and
attitude of Chinese politicians, Chinese citizen and also the china products shape
up the image of china on international arena.
The writer argues that all of above the most considerable and distinguished factor
in the promotion and portrayal of china͚s image abroad is the foreign news and
media. They play an exceptional role in the country͛s reflection. There are
different types of news media, television, radio, newspaper and internet. They are
the sources which provide information on china͛s development; economy and
social events. These together shape its recognition and perspicacity abroad.

China͛s progressive participation in multilateral organizations, its neighbor policy

or culture exchange activities, and its peace and trade treaties, are widely known
by people in other countries through the news media. She further argues that this
is a mediated world and all people are connected to each other and other people
of the world through news media for information. But most significant are the
foreign news media sources on which people rely. Media is such a medium that
links people from all over the world. It builds up the world for people, both public
and political elites. According to Chinese their soft power has 3 main sources they
are values, culture and foreign policy that builds up its perception as rising state.
National image also has an impact on her foreign policy.

The news media are not only important sources of information for policy-makers,
but are also channels of communication within and between governments. They
play an important role in the process of policy-making. On the basis of research
analysis and various interviews the study concludes by saying Western news
sourcesprojects relationship between the media perception of China͛s rise as a
soft power and brand. Especially china͛s foreign relations with the European
Union.News media plays a vital role as information providers in decision making
process and policy making process. All the gathered information goes under the
various procedures before it becomes a policy of a state.The foreign policy-
makers͛ understanding and perception of China is part of the fundamental basis
for the formulation of a China policy. The change of perception of China can be
one of the factors that lead to the change in China policy. Therefore, change of
media coverage of China is one of the factors changing foreign policy toward
China.
Author further examines the perception of China in three transnational news
media, the Financial Times, The Economist and the International Herald Tribune,
in Europe from 1989 to 2005. These show the coverage of China from 1989 to
2005. Author has selected these 3 publications due to its popularity amongst
European elites.Analysis of these sources provides a good representation of the
mainstream image of China in theEuropean public sphere.

The data shows that the volume of media coverage of China in the FT and The
Economist increased in general during the whole period from 1989 to 2005. But in
the IHT, the volume fluctuated with a peak in the mid-1990s and increased again
during the last three years of study.The study also measures the overall news
volume of the three publications. The findings show that the overall number of
pages for news stories in the three newspapers has been relatively stable during
the 17-year period under study.The three European news media are interested in
reporting the different aspects of China. Mainly politics and military, foreign
relations and world affairs,economic/trade/finance and business, culture/arts and
education, society and health, disasters , crime, human rights, sport, cross-Strait
relations, Tiananmen, the handover of Hong Kong, science and technology,
environment and energy.The statistics indicate that the economic, trade, finance
and business aspect of China has drawn the most attention from the news
media.It occupies the biggest proportion of Chinese coverage overall in all three
publications.

Done by the author, content analysis from the news media shows that two topic
categories, the economic aspect and external politics aspect, are most salient in
Chinese coverage in terms of both the percentage in subject distribution and their
placement in the three news publications.This helps to build the absolute and
accurate image of a rising China in the media.

The conclusion and inferences drawn by the author seem fairly logical. On the
basis of interviewing China correspondents for the media; the study explores the
factors that influence the volume change from the perspective of journalistic
practice. It argues that the matrix of news value regarding Chinese stories and the
number of correspondents working for the foreign media are two important
factors leading the changing volume of Chinese coverage. In the period 1989ʹ
1992 not much attention was paid to China.But the drastic events of the student
demonstrations and the government crackdown drew much media attention and
stimulated the coverage of China in 1989.The media reporting shows that from
1993 the overall international climate toward China seemed to change.The media
paid more attention to the economic reform in China, its big potential market and
also its great investment opportunities.

China became a less interesting place than some other Asian countries during the
financial crisis, which led to there being less space to cover China. But, on the
other hand, China͛s economy and its policies would have an impact on other
countries in the region at times of crisis, which made China still an important
place to cover. After joining the WTO in 2001, China engaged in the international
political and economic systems quicker and evolved very fast. It has become a
bigger player in international issues and this turns it into both an interesting and
an important country for the news media.

Author͛s minor argument in this paper is thata goodindicator of the increased

interest and importance of China has been the number of correspondents
working in China for the European transnational newspapers, which in turn
contributes to the growing volume of Chinese coverage.The validity of the
argument is justified. By the data collected that the coverage of economic, trade,
finance and business news story occupies the biggest portion of China reporting
overall. China͛s economy experienced a boom in the 1990s and it continues to
grow at a very fast rate in the twenty-first century. China͛s big potential market
captured a large amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), numerous joint
venture companies were established, while some big cities, such as Beijing,
Shanghai and Guangzhou, became quite modern. The economic boom changed
the face of China and became the country͛s most important event. The image of
the economic aspect of a rising China is also as a country with very fast rates of
growth and development. Eye-catching statistics from China were very often
presented in the media and they themselves said everything about a fast-growing
country.
China has become a much bigger economic story in the newspapers. As a result,
China has been represented as an economically attractive place in the media
since 1993. The picture of Chinarepresented in the media is that, on the one
hand, a more and more opened-up China warmly welcomes foreign investment
under its reform policies; while on the other hand, the newly opened big market
lures foreigners to scramble over one another to invest in China. A rising image of
China economically is first of all of a country with huge opportunities for trade
and investment. Thus China became an economically hot place as foreign
businessmen and bankers are flocking there to do deals. China is also involved
with other strategic issues, for example, its dealings with Africa, Latin America,
and the problem of Iran and so on, because these places are also important
sources of its raw materials and energy.Hence, China is naturally becoming a bigger
player in diplomatic and political issues regionally and globally.

Author finally concludes that the data and findings indicate that the proportion of
overall Chinese coverage has increased. Therefore, the growing presence of
Chinese coverage in the European news media can be said to reflect the
increasing interest in China by the Western world. Also how other countries make
their policies towards china and how they treat her. Hence such power of news
media cannot be ignored in international politics arena.The possible role of
themedia coverage of China͛s rise in this can be described as the news media, as
the main information sources for EU officials on a daily basis, have
helpedEUofficials to understand the development, change and rise of China.The
image of a rising China in the media is a soft power transforming its foreign
relations by influencing the policy-making of other countries or entities toward it.

The article will be placed under the analytical section of my research in which I
will critically evaluate the factors contributing towards china as growing power.
Some parts of it will also fall under the conclusion section.All the information and
facts provided are relevant to my work as my study is on China the next economic
superpower.It shows the relationship of media perception and China͚s policy
involved in global politics.