THE IMAGE OF ETHIOPIA IN THE CHINESE MEDIA: A CASE STUDY OF CHINA GLOBAL TELEVISION NETWORK RESEARCH ARTICLE Ph. D. Canditate: Yibeltal Belayneh ABATE Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi, Gazetecilik Bölümü [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0001-8372-0262 Gönderim Tarihi: 11.10.2020 Kabul Tarihi: 02.12.2020 Alıntı: Abate, B. Y. (2020). The Image of Ethiopia in the Chinese Media: A Case Study of China Global Television Network, AHBV Akdeniz Havzası ve Afrika Medeniyetleri Dergisi (AKAF), 2(2),11-25. ABSTRACT: The relationship between Ethiopia and China dates back in 1970s.The two countries, under the Sino-Africa relationship have mutually benefitted. Despite the long dated friendship, it is surprising how a number of Chinese have little or no idea about Ethiopia or its citizens whilst the situation is different with Ethiopians. Therefore, this study checked how China portrayed Ethiopia in media reporting and the image formed about Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Again, China, like the African Continent has suffered bad image representation by the Western media, thus, it is committed to the imple- mentation of the New World Information Communication Order (NWICO), which would give voice to the voiceless by changing how Africa has been represented. Thus, the research compared the International Chinese media, particularly, China Global Television Network on how it portrayed Ethiopia’s public image not only in China but the world as a whole. The research was guided by three research questions which included how is the image of Ethiopia portrayed by Chinese media? What are the major themes that are presented in Chinese media? And what kind of frames the media used to narrate stories about Ethiopia? Anchored to media framing theory and using content analysis the researcher reviewed stories that were broadcasted about Ethiopia for the period of two years that is 2015 and 2016 on Chinese mainstream media, China Global Television Network. It employs both qualitative and quantitative method. The study showed that the image of Ethiopia in Chinese media is a favorable. Most of the news items were positive which focuses on strengthen a cordial relationship between the two countries. The study also found out that the economic theme is the most dominant theme where Ethiopia is viewed as an economic power and an important player in African economic growth and interna- tional business. That means development, business, trade and other economic related stories has a lot of space in CGTN. Political theme takes the second slot on China Global Television Network portrayal of Ethiopia. Keywords: media image, framing theory, CGTN, Ethiopia, China L'image de L'Ethiopie Dans Les Médıas Chinois: Une Étude De Cas Du Réseau Mondial de Télévision Chinois RESUME: La relation entre l'Éthiopie et la Chine remonte aux années 1970 et les deux pays, dans le cadre de la relation sino-africaine, ont mutuellement bénéficié. Malgré cette amitié de longue date, il est surprenant de voir qu'un certain nombre de Chinois ont peu ou pas d'idée sur l'Éthiopie ou ses citoyens alors que la situation est différente avec les Éthiopiens. Par conséquent, cette étude a vérifié comment la Chine représentait l'Éthiopie dans les reportages des médias et l'image formée sur l'Éthiopie et les Éthiopiens. Encore une fois, la Chine, tout comme le continent africain, a souffert d'une mauvaise image de la part des médias occidentaux, c'est pourquoi elle s'est engagée à mettre en œuvre le Nouvel Ordre mondial de communication de l'information (NWICO), qui donnerait la parole aux sans voix en changeant la façon dont l'Afrique a été représentée. Ainsi, la recherche a comparé les médias internationaux chinois, en particulier le China Global Television Network, à la façon dont il dépeignait l’image publique de l’Éthiopie non seulement en Chine mais dans le monde dans son ensemble. La recherche a été guidée par trois questions de recherche qui comprenaient comment l'image de l'Éthiopie est-elle représentée par les médias chinois? Quels sont les thèmes majeurs présentés dans les médias chinois? Et quel genre de cadres les médias ont-ils utilisés pour raconter des histoires sur l'Éthiopie? Ancré dans la théorie du cadrage médiatique et utilisant l'analyse de contenu, le chercheur a passé en revue les histoires diffusées sur l'Éthiopie pendant la période de deux ans, soit 2015 et 2016, sur les grands médias chinois, China Global Television Network. Il utilise une méthode à la fois qualitative et quantitative. L'étude a montré que l'image de l'Éthiopie dans les médias chinois est favorable. La plupart des informations ont été positives et visent à renforcer une relation cordiale entre les deux pays. L'étude a également révélé que le thème économique est le thème le plus dominant où l'Éthiopie est considérée comme une puissance économique et un acteur important de la croissance économique africaine et des affaires internationales. Cela signifie que le développement, les affaires, le commerce et d'autres histoires liées à l'éco- nomie ont beaucoup d'espace dans CGTN. Le thème politique occupe la deuxième place dans la représentation de l'Éthiopie par le China Global Television Network. Mots clés: image médiatique, théorie du cadrage, CGTN, Ethiopie, Chine 12 AHBV Akdeniz Havzası ve Afrika Medeniyetleri Dergisi 2/2 2020 GÜZ Introduction According to Shinn (2014, 2015),Ethiopia and China started official relationship when they opened em- bassies in their respective capitals beginning from 1972. This relationship has reached a greater level over the past four decades. Currently, the bilateral relations are multifaceted and keeping the economic growth of both countries promising. On the other hand, many Chinese companies are engaged in several development projects in Ethiopia. Road, railways, and telecommunications are among the major projects that the Chinese companies are involved in. Chinese engagement and projects in Ethiopia became transformative after the beginning of the 21st Century. In 2000, China-Ethiopia trade was only $88m. But it reached a cumulative $1bn by 2014. In recent years, annual investment flows from China have surpassed any other country. Western aid is far more important for Ethiopia than the assistance it gets from China (Abdella, 2008). But even in the case of aid, China has emerged as an important donor, primarily because of its conces- sionary loans for infrastructure projects. Ethiopia was the first African country to receive a contingent of young Chinese volunteers, similar to the American Peace Corps. It has also stepped up its soft power with the establishment of a Confucius Institute at the Ethiopia-China Polytechnic College and increased the number of scholarships in China for Ethiopian students. Trade and investment relations mirror the political ones. At the political level, China and Ethiopia have been supportive of each other (Mulualem, 2014). Thus as China continues to influence the world economy and Ethiopia development, it is important to assess how the relationship between the two countries is perceived and how the image of Ethiopia is represented in china media. The launch of the former CCTV Africa (now CGTN Africa) in 2012 is an initiative that aims at bridging the wide speculations about Ethiopia and other Africans in the minds of many Chinese as well as Ethi- opians (Wan, 2015). According to Wan The approach has provided an alternative voice to Africa and is invariably helping to change the way the African story is narrated in the global media especially those of the West and the European world. CCTV Africa can be said to be a Pan-African initiative determined to change the image of Africa to the dislike of many Western media. The Ethiopians also wonders if Chinese media cover the ties between the two countries or are the people attracted to the things of Ethiopia-China relations in the media content. A research done by Wainaina (2008) indicated that not a single week, at least passes without China being in the light of n media outlets in Africa.The same is true in Ethiopia Thus, it is expected that the media in China also cover at least things concerning Ethiopia and China to keep the relationship alive and more importantly to inform the upcoming ones, so as to promote the relationship into the future. This is the reason this study is dwelling on Ethiopia’s representation in the Chinese media using a con- tent analysis. The researcher has tried to access whether or not Chinese media report on issues of Ethiopia and mutual cooperation between Ethiopia and China. The study seeks to know if there are news stories in Chinese media, and how they are reported; whether in the negative or positive way, which frames are used, which topics are covered and which ones are dominant. Statement of the Problem Ethiopia, which is located in Eastern part of Africa, is Africa's oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. It has a unique cultural heritage, it is the land of human origin and the birth place of coffee. It served as a symbol of African independence throughout the colonial period, and was a founder member of the United Nations and base for many international organizations. Even though the country has a lot of amazing treasures and one of the fastest economy in Africa, it's image in the West has been largely formed by the Western media, which has painted Ethiopia as a poor coun- try. Ojo,T. (2000). indicated most of the time the western media has broadcasted about drought, famine and conflict related stereotype kind of reporting. It is also perceived that the Chinese media is doing the same. Therefore, the Study wants to know whether the Chinese media give coverage to Ethiopia or not, If the media give coverage about Ethiopia the study would try to analyse which frames are dominant and how is Ethiopia portrayed.