Australia’s Fear and Greed over China’s Rise:A Discourse Analysis of Mainstream News Coverage of the Belt and Road Initiative

• 作者: CHEN Zhixin
• 来源期刊: 国际关系与外交:英文版
• 学科: 教育
• 关键词: China’s RISE BELT and ROAD Initiative(BRI) FEAR and GREED
• 年，卷（期）: 2018,（8）
• 页码范围: 436-448
• 页数: 13页
• 分类号: G633.412

摘要

China’s rise has stirred up world-wide debate.In Australia,China has been one of the keywords in its foreign and strategic policies and on news media.Its rise intensifies the dual functions―benefit provider and security offender to Australia and the tensions between greed of economic gains and fear of China’s increasing geopolitical strength and influence.The“fear and greed”narration is well-presented on Australian mainstream media.Such ambivalence can also find its expressions in the recent typical case of China’s rise―the Belt and Road Initiative.It is worthwhile to find out how Australia’s ambivalence to BRI and China’s rise is represented on media and to draw the sociopolitical inferences behind“fear and greed”.The thesis is going to take BRI as a typical example of China’s rise to examine the ambivalent“fear and greed”narration on Australian mainstream news media.Data sample includes news reports of BRI from ABC News,The Australian,The Australian Financial Review,The Sydney Morning Herald,and The Age from September 1st,2013 to October 31st,2017.The discourse analysis on China’s images finds that Australia is rather biased against China,regarding China both as a lucrative friend and a threatening enemy.The bias lingers on for centuries and generates misunderstanding,mistrust,and anxiety.Profit drives Australia to establish closer economic ties with China,while value differences would not allow too much proximity but help to maintain a robust alliance with its allies.Australia’s position between its major economic partner and traditional allies has caused much concern and will have a long-term influence on its policy-making decisions.