Interaction between news media and external policy: The case of EU-China relations in the post-cold war era

Abstract

This thesis is a longitudinal study investigating the media-foreign policy relationship in the context of EU-China relations since the end of the Cold War. It examines the way in which the images of the EU and China changed in the Chinese and European news media respectively and investigates how the economics, politics and journalistic practice interplay in shaping the coverage. The findings shed light on the way in which the media construct the post-Cold War world and therefore play a role in transforming international relations. The analysis of the relationship between the media coverage and the EUs foreign policy toward China argues that the media play a significant role in EU-China relations. In terms of the general direction of policy-making, media coverage created an attractive nation image of China and has some influence on the European Commissions long-term policy-making toward China. Conversely, in terms of a specific issue area, media coverage was shaped by the EU's stance towards the specific Chinese issue. Moreover, the investigation of China's national interests, foreign policy and media coverage of the EU in China provides clues about China"s view of the world and its development strategy, which would help to understand the rise of China in the international system. The thesis uses case studies in EU-China relations, quantitative content analysis of media coverage and qualitative interviews with the officials involved in the decision-making process from the EU and China, as well as the journalists involved in reporting the EU and China, to achieve the research objectives