| ID | 117643 |
| Title Proper | Representing China in the South Pacific |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Sullivan, Jonathan ; Renz, Bettina |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Chinese diplomacy, aid, economic interactions and manifestations of soft
power have increased the country's influence in the South Pacific region. By some
accounts, China's influence is already approaching that of traditional stakeholders
Australia and New Zealand. In Africa and other regions state-led and private activities
in established powers' perceived spheres of influence has caused concern and
inspired particular narratives about China's motivations. In this article we examine
how media discourses in Australia and New Zealand have represented China's role in
the South Pacific. We find that China's role has been constructed using multiple
negative frames, which seek to establish China as unequivocally 'different'. More
than being unencumbered by the constraints of public opinion and a free press, China
is portrayed as operating in a different moral universe, in which the cold hearted
exploitation of vulnerable island nations (often in cahoots with venal island elites) is
entirely normal. The article shows how such constructions reveal some of the
complex issues involved in Australia and New Zealand's relationships both with
China and other South Pacific nations. |
| `In' analytical Note | East Asia: An International Quaterly Vol. 29, No.4; Dec 2012: p.377-390 |
| Journal Source | East Asia: An International Quaterly Vol. 29, No.4; Dec 2012: p.377-390 |
| Key Words | Australia ; China ; Media Coverage ; New Zealand ; Popular Geopolitics ; South Pacific |