China: Economic magnet or rival? Framing of China in the Dutch- and French-language elite press in Belgium and the Netherlands

Abstract

Given the increasing attention China has attracted on a global scale over the last few decades, ample academic research has been conducted into the types of China discourses, spread through the media. Studies have pointed at a mounting Sino-phobic discourse in some US media, which prompts the question whether similar attitudes and frames emerge in non-English media narratives. Hence, this study examines how the Belgian as well as the Dutch elite press engage with the new world player. It combines a content analysis, looking into thematic hierarchies and tone/perspective with a critical discourse analysis, retrieving discursive practices, such as evaluative positioning and framing of the country and its main actors. In addition, the article integrates framing research with a Gramscian notion of media hegemony to investigate whether the particular source selection leaves room for a heteroglossic environment.