From partner to rival: changes in media frames of China in German print coverage between 2000 and 2019

Abstract

Western countries’ relations with China are characterised by a dichotomy of partnership and conflict, of rapprochement and demarcation. To date, research lacks longitudinal studies that examine how these economic and political tendencies become manifest in the image of China conveyed by Western media. Taking Germany as an example, this study aims to shed light on the development of China coverage in print media between 2000 and 2019. Following a triangulating mixed-method approach, the results of computational topic1 modelling (N = 55,893) are complemented by semi-standardised interviews with China correspondents. A framing analysis shows that China was depicted as a valuable economic partner until a rivalry frame started to become dominant in 2016/17. This shift was accompanied by a significant increase in media interest.