China's Strategy to Shape Africa's Media Space

 The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 16 April 2024 an analysis titled "China's Strategy to Shape Africa's Media Space" by Paul Nantulya.

The author describes a global strategy by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to gain influence in developing countries by shaping their information environments.  This raises concerns about the effect that China's heavy media penetration is having on shaping public perceptions in ways that promote Chinese interests even when they undermine African citizen interests.  

Thousands of African journalists participate annually in media exchanges in China.  Money is the key; Chinese media entities support many African media houses struggling with poor equipment, low salaries, and tight budgets.  Nevertheless, the author concludes the effectiveness of Chinese messaging is mixed.  

China's African Narrative: Party versus Commercial Media

The Conversation published on 21 December 2016 an article titled "China's New Commercial Media Is Complicating the Party's Good News Narrative about Africa" by Xiaoling Zhang, University of Nottingham.

The article is based on an upcoming book chapter that compares the coverage of Africa in the CPC People's Daily and the more commercialized Southern Weekly. It concludes the two Chinese papers have very different portrayals of Africa. Coverage about Africa in the People's Daily is largely positive while the Southern Weekly presents a more narrow and negative view of the continent.