Russia in the Regional Media of the People's Republic of China (Based on the Materials of “Heilongjiang Ribao”)

Abstract

The article "Russia in the regional media of the People's Republic of China (Based on the materials of Heilongjiang Ribao)" is an analysis of the materials of the regional newspaper "Heilongjiang Ribao" (China, Harbin) — the central printing body of the provincial CPC committee of Heilongjiang Province, — for 2022. During the study, the following issues were considered: reflection of the Special Military Operation (SMO) of the Russian Federation; assessment of Russian-Chinese relations of interstate and cross-border relations; humanitarian cooperation between the PRC and the Russian Federation. Consideration of the press materials of the Heilongjiang province bordering Russia allows us to make several generalizations in accordance with the objectives of this work. Firstly, the coverage of the SMO was in line with the trends common to the PRC: the presentation of individual facts, assessments of different sides of the conflict and the positive-neutral position of the PRC. Secondly, the insignificance of issues on the international agenda for the region, which resulted in a limited presentation of material on this topic. Thirdly, in publications about Russian-Chinese border relations, Russia acts not so much as a subject, but as an object of interaction. On the one hand, cooperation with our country seems to be an important element of the economic development of Heilongjiang Province, on the other hand, information is provided without specifying the role of Russian regions in the development of such cooperation. And finally, when reviewing the interaction in the cultural sphere, a high assessment of the culture of Russia is obvious, the importance of relations with the relevant institutions of the Russian Federation for the development of their own cultural institutions, which have become the "hallmark of Longjiang". The volume of materials about Russia at the present time, as before, is influenced by the characteristic focus of the Chinese mass media on covering internal processes and a weak interest in the international agenda. The assessment of Russia in these materials is generally positive and neutral and reflects the main vectors of bilateral relations set by the governments of the two countries.