Media Coverage of China-Africa Relations: the Case of the BBC and ETV Muluken Asegidew A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of Journalism and Communication Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Journalism and Communication Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June, 2013 Media Coverage of China- Africa Relations: the Case of the BBC and ETV Muluken Asegidew Advisor: Abdissa Zerai (PhD.) Signed by the Examining Committee: ____________________________ ___________ ______________ Advisor Signature Date ____________________________ ____________ ______________ Examiner Signature Date ____________________________ _____________ ______________ Examiner Signature Date _____________________________ _____________ _______________ Chair of Department or Graduate Program Coordinator Signature Date Media Coverage of China- Africa Relations: the Case of the BBC and ETV Muluken Asegidew Addis Ababa University, 2013 ABSTRACT The main aim of this study was examining the media coverage of China- Africa relations in light of Framing and Orientalism theories. The study focused on the 21st century China- Africa relations, when China has become one of the world’s powerful nations and Africa has started building a new name. It also pointed out emphasized and deemphasized issues and commonly utilized media sources. To this end, a qualitative method, (particularly) textual analytic method was used. The BBC and ETV were selected purposefully and their online version of the news stories published from Jan. 2011 to Feb. 30, 2013, were collected from the websites, www.com/news and www.erta.gov.et, respectively. The analysis shows that the BBC and ETV online news stories used South-South co-operation frame, non-interference frame, and mutual benefit frame in articulating China-Africa relations. While ETV’s online news stories focused on success-oriented positive narratives in describing the relationship, the BBC online news stories presented both the positive and the negative sides of China-Africa relations a bit with some exaggerations on the negative side of the relationship. Along the negative side, the BBC online news stories framed the relationship as a new form of colonization. However, ETV had nothing to say about the negative consequences of China’s practice on the Continent. ETV online news stories highlighted the economic and political gains that have accrued from China-Africa relations, whereas they deemphasised the negative influence the relationship brought on Africa. The two selected media outlets represented China-Africa relations differently. What is more, while ETV’s news sources were predominantly official government sources, the BBC used an array of sources from different walks of life in its news production. This might be attributable to the fact that the two media outlets follow different models of journalism: ETV follows the developmental journalism model, whereas the BBC adheres to the liberal model. Finally, based on these findings a few recommendations have been suggested. Acknowledgments First and foremost, I thank God for all that have happened in my life. It has shaped me to be who I am today. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor Dr. Abdissa Zerai for his guidance and provision of constructive feedback throughout our stay. I have benefited enormously from the conversations we have had be it at the office or even at a tea break. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Gebremedhin Simon, Dr. Negeri Lencho and Dr. Zenebe Beyene for their comments and suggestions during my proposal defense. My especial appreciation also goes to my friend, Ewnetu Tameno, from Addis Ababa University, department of history who has been very cooperative in providing me with international relations materials for this study. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my families and friends without whose enduring support I could not have gotten this far. I dedicate this thesis to the memory of my late father. Table of Contents Contents Pages CHAPTER ONE----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1.1 Background of the Study---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1.1.1 Short Brief of People’s Republic of China--------------------------------------------------- 2 1.1.2 An Overview of the Africa Continent -------------------------------------------------------- 4 1.2 Statement of the Problem --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 1.3 Objective of the Study ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 1.4 Research Questions--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 1.5 Significance of the Study---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 1.6 Scope of the Study ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 1.7 Organization of the Study--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 CHAPTER TWO---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 Review of Related Literature -------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 2.1 The Concepts and Elements of International Relations----------------------------------------10 2.1.1 Foreign Policy-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 2.1.2 Diplomacy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 2.1.3 Nations’ International Obligations -----------------------------------------------------------14 2.1.4 International Relation Actors -----------------------------------------------------------------15 2.2. Review of China- Africa Relations --------------------------------------------------------------16 2.2.1 Political and Economic Interaction-----------------------------------------------------------16 2.2.2 China Investment in Africa--------------------------------------------------------------------19 2.2.3 China Loan and Donation to Africa----------------------------------------------------------21 2.2.4 Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) ------------------------------------------22 2.2.5 Arguments on China- Africa Relations------------------------------------------------------24 2.3. Media in International Relations -----------------------------------------------------------------27 2.4 Theoretical Frameworks----------------------------------------------------------------------------29 2.4.1 News Framing-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------29 2.4.2 Orientalism --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32 CHAPTER THREE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------37 Methodology of the Research ------------------------------------------------------------------------------37 3.1 Research Method ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------37 3.2. Selection of Media Outlets ------------------------------------------------------------------------38 CHAPTER FOUR--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41 Media Frames on China- Africa Relations ---------------------------------------------------------------41 4.1 South to South Cooperation Frame ---------------------------------------------------------------43 4.2 Non-Interference Frame----------------------------------------------------------------------------46 4.3. Mutual Benefit Frame------------------------------------------------------------------------------49 4.4 New Form of Colonization Frame ----------------------------------------------------------------52 4.5 Media Discourse on China-Africa Economic and Political Relations-----------------------56 4.5.1 Media Discourse on China- Africa Economic Relations----------------------------------57 4.5.2 Media Discourse on China- Africa Political Relations------------------------------------62 4.6 Emphasized & Deemphasized Issues in the News Narratives on China-Africa Relations----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------66 4.7. Commonly Utilized Media Sources on China- Africa Relations ----------------------------70 4.7.1. Commonly Utilized Media Sources in ETV ----------------------------------------------71 4.7.2. Commonly Utilized Media Sources in the BBC -----------------------------------------71 CHAPTER FIVE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------73 Conclusion and Recommendations ------------------------------------------------------------------------73 5.1 Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------73 5.2 Recommendations-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------74 Appendixes----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------76 Bibliography --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------82 CHAPTER ONE 1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study The contemporary world is widely described as globalized, globalizing