An Analysis Of China’s National Image In African Media’s Reports On Chinese COVID-19 Vaccines

Since the explosion of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,countries have invested heavily in vaccine research and development.As a result,with the approval of China’s COVID-19 vaccine for use,the international community’s attention has shifted to the vaccine aid efforts that China has made to African regions and countries.Understanding the African media’s views on China’s COVID-19 vaccines and the image of China created in their coverage are essential for guiding China’s aid policies and measures to Africa and for managing China-Africa relations postCOVID-19.This research focuses on four African countries(Egypt,Zimbabwe,Morocco and Sudan)that received China’s first batch of vaccine aid,and examines their English-language mainstream media reports from 1 July 2020 to 31 July 2022.Using a data-driven approach to discourse analysis,it analyses media coverage in the four countries in terms of frequency of coverage,hot topics and emotional attitudes.The major findings are listed as follows:From the analysis of report frequency,the media attention to Chinese COVID-19 vaccines in the four countries changes over time,initially increasing and then decreasing;During the end of 2020 and the first half of 2021,China is actively engaged in vaccine assistance initiatives in Africa,the media attention increases greatly.After the end of 2021,with the completion of vaccine assistance measures and plans,the media pay less attention to Chinese vaccines.From the perspective of report topics,more positive stories are published about Chinese vaccines;China’s aid efforts and China-Africa political and economic cooperation are key topics in the media.Different topics reported by the media in different countries have created different images of China,but generally created a positive China’s health aid image.In terms of emotional attitude,there are more positive reports on Chinese vaccines,which are mainly reflected in the assistance measures and the vaccine efficacy.However,there are also some negative reports,mainly criticizing the lack of transparency of vaccine data,doubting China’s political hegemony and its vaccine diplomacy.All stories together form a multi-dimensional,complex image of China,ranging from friendly,open,technologically advanced and responsible country to government collaborator,vaccine diplomatic trap-setter,political coloniser and lowquality vaccine producer.We analyze the reasons for the differences in China’s image building from the political factors,historical and cultural background and the media itself in this thesis.This research shows that African media affirm China’s vaccine aid and create a positive image of China.However,Africa,as the recipient of China’s aid,its media also pay attention to the motives of China’s aid,resulting in negative reports that are heavily influenced by Western media.Therefore,it is recommended that cooperation between Chinese and African media should be strengthened and a multi-modal international communication mode should be established to convey a more accurate image.