Mediatized China-Africa Relations : How Media Discourses Negotiate the Shifting of Global Order

Description

This cutting edge book explores the role of the media in the highly disputed area of China-Africa relations, notably how various aspects of the issue have been portrayed, negotiated and contested in media and academic discourses. As Africa’s biggest trading partner and creditor, China explores Africa not only as a marketplace for importing primary commodities and exporting manufactured goods, but also as a preferred testing ground for its media and telecommunication sector aspiring for further internationalization. At a time when the influence from Global North has been on the wane in the continent, emerging powers are regarded as new inspirations for Africa’s development. China in particular tries to bolster multipolarity in Africa by factoring in media influence and facilitating the digitalization process of the continent. This book offers an up-to-date geopolitical analysis of China-Africa, examining the role of communication and telecommunication in the power shift, especially in constructing social and cultural realities in which the idea of “development” has been recurrently redefined and negotiated in the public domain. This volume tackles the issue from the new perspective of mediatization, considering how the media on the one hand shapes public opinion with its narratives and a logic of its own, and on the other hand simultaneously becomes an integrated part of other institutions like politics, trade, business as more of these institutional activities are performed through both interactive and mass media. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Shubo Li)....Pages 1-20 International Debate over China–Africa Media Engagements (Shubo Li)....Pages 21-47 Changing Africa’s Mediascape? (Shubo Li)....Pages 49-73 China’s Media Involvement in Africa (Shubo Li)....Pages 75-101 How Chinese Media Houses Are Established in Africa (Shubo Li)....Pages 103-122 Contesting the Chinese Model of Telecommunication Expansion in Africa (Shubo Li)....Pages 123-151 New Prospects and Challenges: Mapping China’s Expansive Telecommunications Industry in Africa (Shubo Li)....Pages 153-167 How Chinese New Media Portrays Africa (Shubo Li)....Pages 169-190 Conclusion: Unpacking Chinese Media Diplomacy in Africa (Shubo Li)....Pages 191-203 Back Matter ....Pages 205-218