In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Narrative
China Builds Global South Media Network to Counter U.S., West
China has set up a new Global South media-and-think-tank network, presenting it as a way to balance what it calls Western control over news and global narratives. Beijing says it will give the Global South a stronger voice in world ...
“Self-Othering” and “Neighboring”: Understanding China’s Global South Strategy
By Giulia Sciorati The Third Belt and Road Forum, held in Beijing on October 18th, marked a significant moment to evaluate China’s strategies for engaging the Global South. While public discourse has focused on financial commitments and infrastructure projects, the narratives ...
Key Players in South China Sea Confrontation Scramble to Shape the Narrative
The release of videos on Wednesday of this week's violent confrontation between Chinese and Philippines maritime authorities in the South China Sea triggered the usual mix of blame and recriminations among the major parties, but this time, there was a more ominous tone.
French Journalist Surprised to Hear Congo President Says He Prefers Dealing With Russia and China Over the West
French journalist Darius Rochebin seemed genuinely surprised when Democratic Republic of the Congo President Félix Tshisekedi stated in a recent interview that he and other African leaders prefer to work with Russia and China over Western democracies. Rochebin, one of francophone ...
Video of Chinese Man Whipping Two African Young People Goes Viral
A horrifying video of a Chinese man brutally whipping two young men appeared online late last week and quickly went viral, racking up more than 30 million views on X and other social media platforms. While the clip was widely seen and ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Matching Deeds With Words? The Coming of Age of the “China Model”
China’s economic statecraft across the developing world continues to receive global media attention. From the infamous and largely debunked “debt trap” to China’s future as a development financier, the country’s lending practices have primarily been connected to its record-breaking economic growth in the past.
Domestic Chinese Media Narratives About the ‘Spiraling’ South China Sea Crisis Warn About Sinking Into a ‘Black Hole’
There's been a discernible change in tone in the Chinese domestic media discourse about escalating tensions in the South China Sea. Until now, much of the narrative set by both state and Communist Party-run media outlets has focused on the Philippines ...
Manila Invites CNN, Wall Street Journal Aboard Coast Guard Ships to Cover Confrontations With China in South China Sea
Reporters from leading international news organizations, including CNN and The Wall Street Journal, among others, were onboard Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships this week during violent confrontations with the China Coast Guard (CCG) in the South China Sea. Both outlets published ...
Immediately After Confrontations at Sea, Chinese and Philippine Partisans Battle to Shape the Narrative Online
When this current phase of the tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea began last February, the narrative struggle was largely one-sided. The Philippines Coast Guard understood that if it published videos of each ...
Chinese, Philippine Coast Guards Trade Barbs Over Who Is to Blame for Latest South China Sea Confrontation
Chinese and Philippines officials are furiously trying to shape the narrative over a confrontation between their Coast Guards that took place last week near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. This latest incident occurred on Friday when a Philippine ...
Philippines and China Give Conflicting Accounts of Latest South China Sea Run-In
The Philippines on Tuesday vowed to protect its territory “at all cost” following another confrontation with the Chinese navy in the South China Sea. The two sides gave sharply differing accounts of the encounter, which occurred near the disputed Scarborough Shoal. ...
Chinese Meme Comparing Gaza and Xinjiang Goes Viral
China’s embassy in France caused an online stir by posting a meme comparing Gaza and Xinjiang. The meme, labeled “Untitled” shows an image of a bombed street in Gaza juxtaposed with an intact and seemingly thriving one in Xinjiang. The image ...