“The Russia-Ukraine War” or “The US-Russia War”? Thematic analysis of Global Times’ coverage of the Russia-Ukraine War

Abstract

Despite China’s claims of its impartial stance, the United States and several Western countries continue to accuse the Chinese government of supporting Putin’s war against Ukraine. Chinese state media was framed as the “mouthpiece” for the so-called “pro-Russia propaganda”. Aiming to ascertain the stance of China’s state press and provide insight into their representation of the Russia-Ukraine War, this article conducts a thematic analysis of one of the state-owned newspaper’s coverage from February 24, 2022, to April 24, 2022, two months since the war began. The selected news media is Global Times, a state-controlled, internationally-oriented daily tabloid. The analysis revealed five main themes in the data: Background, Progress, Response, Influence, and Reference, with the US being depicted as the “protagonist” and Ukraine as a relatively minor character. The newspaper has been aligning with Russia’s anti-American narratives in its war coverage, not only by emphasizing the Russia-Ukraine War as a war between the US and Russia but also by fostering a sense of togetherness between Russia and China. It is noteworthy that Global Times neither echoed Russia’s accusation of “Ukrainian nazism” nor endorsed Russia’s claims of victory on the battlefield.