Cooperative, competitive and responsible: the visualization of China as a major power and its global roles in the CCTV documentary Daguo Waijiao

Abstract

This paper contributes to our understanding of China as a major/great power by analysing visual narratives in the Chinese Central Television (CCTV) political documentary Daguo Waijao (Major Country Diplomacy, DGWJ). It develops an analytical framework to tease out visualized role claims and demonstrates how those of constructive competitor, cooperative partner, norm-maker, economic power and responsible power are conceptualized in DGWJ through its narratives. The study concludes that China refuses to take on the pre-defined roles projected onto her by the United States and instead attempts to reinterpret them according to her own goals and views. In this vein, DGWJ can also be understood as an attempt at strategic altercasting. While the US identifies China (and Russia) as challengers and opponents to the liberal international order, DGWJ presents China’s promotion of ‘alternative’ multilateral institutions and initiatives—such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the (BRICS) New Development Bank or the country’s engagement in regional peace- and trust-building measures—as a sign of genuine commitment to the global commons. Key emphasis is on maintaining peace and cooperation and avoiding conflict between a rising China and the existing leading power (namely, the US) while at the same time actively promoting new norms and approaches (together with Russia). The study highlights the importance attached in DGWJ to the recognition of China’s role claims by significant others. In this context, the ability to rise as a great power is increasingly defined not only by material power recourses but also by the ideational dimensions of global leadership.