Strategic Comrades? Russian and Chinese Media Representations of NATO

Abstract

This article analyses perceptions of NATO in Chinese and Russian press narratives. China and Russia are often mentioned together as they share a common (geo)political position toward a perceived hegemonic West of which NATO is an evident part. We analysed frames constructing NATO at the time of the Warsaw NATO summit in 2016 as well as the underlying sources. Both countries frame NATO foremost as an aggressive organisation stuck in Cold War confrontational world views while Russia and China are open for dialogue and cooperation. The main narrative that emerges, therefore, is the self-proclaimed moral superiority of Russia and China. relatively liberal democracies tend to be China and Russia, often mentioned in one breath, such as 'EU names China and Russia as top hackers' (Rettman 2018) or 'Is PM Michel willing to start an alliance with Russia and China?' (Holslag 2018). In the remarks by President Biden on America's place in the world, China and Russia are also the first countries mentioned in his resolve to fight 'advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy' (Whitehouse 2021). In the NATO 2030 report, both China and Russia are identified as 'threats' (NATO Expert Group 2020). Surely, it is understood that both the Chinese and Russian authorities view the liberal democratic system as a threat and will spare no efforts to counter liberal hegemony. Based on this shared ideological position, articulated publicly and privately in Moscow and Beijing, Sino-Russian security (and economic) cooperation has broadened and deepened since the late 1990s (Owen 2020). However, this common position toward a perceived hegemonic Western enemy does not eliminate tensions between the neighbouring countries. China's 'One Belt, One Road' initiative does not tally easily with Russia's 'Eurasian Economic Community' and the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reportedly criticised China's expansion of influence in Central Asia as a serious threat to Russian interests. 1 Against this background of growing international distrust and shared apprehension between Russia and China about the hegemonic potential of Western liberal order, the present article sets out to examine perceptions of the foreign Other, in particular NATO, in the Russian and Chinese news media. Given press accounts originating from liberal democracies often subject these two countries to similar criticism for their authoritarian governance style and anti-Western attitudes, it begs the question whether similarities in portrayal of the foreign Other, in this case NATO, can be found in the Russian and Chinese national media outlets. This study is original by comparing the NATO portrayal of two countries, Russia and China, that are identified as geopolitical threats by NATO. It deconstructs the frames around NATO as integral parts of the broader narratives. The study analyses the news articles' lexical choices and semantic fields in addition to laying ...

Strategic Narratives in China’s Bid for Discursive Hegemony

“…According to Edward Yi Yang [2020], the PRC's system narrative justifies building a "community of common destiny for mankind," a concept that was first mentioned in Hu Jintao's report in 2012 but became associated with China's new foreign policy approach under Xi. China's system narrative portrays the existing international system as unfair, in which some actors can break established rules and norms without being punished and can exploit other actors [Lams et al, 2022]. Turning to history, the PRC condemns western colonial practices of the past and hints at ongoing exploitation that has to be stopped.…”

“…First, the identity narrative includes the ideas of western imperialist containment of China's development and anti-Americanism. It talks about China's moral superiority and juxtaposes the PRC with western countries that break international law and norms in pursuit of hegemony [Lams et al, 2022]. Second, the identity narrative includes the more positive idea of a nationalist revival (the Chinese dream, cultural confidence) that urges Chinese people to unite on the basis of common cultural values.…”