Chinese narrative about Africa: Quantitative analysis of CGTN's online publications

China seeks to expand its economic presence in Africa as a strategic move to secure the resources and markets necessary to sustain its rapid economic growth. Even though Africa is not a primary region for the export ⁽¹⁾ or import ⁽²⁾ of Chinese goods, China is heavily investing in relationships with the continent, aiming to fill the niche created by the gradual deterioration (or even severance) of relationships with former European colonial powers (Ajakaiye 2006). China is also positioning itself as the new donor for the continent. According to Paul Zeleza's work, China enabled Africa to reach for “new economic opportunities and diplomatic breathing room” (Zeleza 2014, p.165). However, according to many researchers, this generosity should be approached with caution as it may reflect neocolonial and neo-imperialist ambitions (ed. van Dijk 2009).

The flagship project of Sino-African cooperation is the controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – a large-scale infrastructure development programme aimed at connecting Asia with Africa and Europe. Recently, the African continent has also experienced a significant influx of economic migrants from China, which has been relatively well received by the local communities. However, research on this topic remains scarce (Mohan & Tan-Mullins 2009).

The Chinese initiative in Africa is also characterized by a strong focus on maintaining soft power. One of the main tools for shaping a positive image of China in the eyes of Africans, as well as promoting cooperation between them, is Chinese media (Memon & Sandano 2023). One of the most recognizable of these news outlets is China Global Television Network (Memon & Sandano 2023). Rebranded from CCTV International in December 2016, CGTN aimed to compete with popular media outlets, such as BBC or CNN, attracting international audiences worldwide (Varrall 2020; Yan et al. 2022).

As research has previously shown, mass media can reflect state policies (Wlezien & Soroka 2024), especially when dealing with highly biased journalism ⁽³⁾ and an editorial board that is frequently accused of close ties with Xi Jinping's government (Varrall 2020). For this reason, the study on Chinese media content is important in the context of international relations.

The use of media in geographical research is also worth explaining. According to Paul C. Adams (Adams 2018), communication permeates human surroundings in the contemporary world, integrating into the environment. Information has become a permanent part of the anthropogenic landscape. For a field as interdisciplinary and broad in scope as geography, it is crucial to remain flexible, and to adapt to the ways in which the world around us, and its principles, evolve. Moreover, media can provide various information that is valuable from a geographers' point of view, such as spatial data. Research on Chinese media did attract the interest of researchers exceptionally quickly; however, in general, geographical media research remains niche.

The purpose of this article is to examine the image of African countries portrayed by CGTN through its content. The author anticipated that CGTN would promote a positive narrative regarding African countries. Emphasis would be placed on the aid provided for Africa. Additionally, the news would focus on the countries that are China's most important economic partners.

The research took the form of quantitative content analysis. Data collection was carried out by reviewing the content of online news published on CGTN's website. Data was gathered from news articles published between 7 December 2023 and 16 March 2024, covering a period of 100 days.

The content analysis was carried out through three research questions: (1) Which African countries are mentioned?; (2) What is the overall sentiment of the publication?; (3) Does the publication mention intervention by non-African countries/organizations?

In the course of the sentiment analysis, the author measured the proportion of positive content relative to the total number of mentions analyzed (Figure 1). The indicator, created for the purpose of this study, will be referred to as Positive Sentiment Index (PSI).

Figure 1.

Positive Sentiment Index formula

Source: own elaboration

The obtained results were compared with several statistics, selected by the author, concerning the engagement of African states in economic and diplomatic cooperation with China.

During the research period, CGTN published 116 news articles related to Africa. Some publications covered more than one country, which was described in the number of mentions – 126 (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Number of mentions and Positive Sentiment Index value for each country in CGTN during the research period (n=126)

Source: own elaboration

For the purpose of the study, the author created four subjective categories of the text's sentiment: negative, positive, neutral, difficult to define (Table 1). Positive sentiment accounted for half of all the mentions, while negative was 25%.

The results for the PSI index can be observed on the map (Figure 2). Thirteen countries achieved 100%, which indicates that all analyzed mentions were positive. On the other hand, nine countries received a score of 0%. The results of six countries were in 60–99% range. The results of seven countries were in the 30–59% range. Finally, three countries achieved a result ranging from 1% to 29%. Countries frequently mentioned tended to achieve moderate PSI values. Exceptions included Angola, Nigeria, and South Sudan. Angola was mentioned three times, and each instance conveyed positive content, resulting in a PSI value of 100%. The opposite situation occurred for Nigeria and South Sudan, which were mentioned four and three times, respectively, with all mentions being negative.

While the PSI index reflects CGTN's general narrative about African countries, the author is aware of its limitations. Countries with fewer mentions achieved very high or very low scores due to a lack of diverse media narratives. Therefore, the interpretation of results derived from the index should always be considered in the context of the total number of mentions.

The last research question concerned whether the texts contained any mentions of an intervention or aid by non-African subjects. Such information was included in 54% of the publications.

The most frequently mentioned countries in CGTN's publications were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12), Egypt (9), South Africa (8), Sudan (7), Kenya (6), and Somalia (6). It is not possible to identify a single region of Africa that stood out with a significantly greater interest from the studied media outlet – the data is scattered throughout the whole continent. Only West Africa received very little interest from CGTN.

A clear dominance of positive over negative news was observed. Southern Africa was portrayed in a slightly more positive manner than the rest of the regions. However, once again, the obtained data is heterogeneous. The PSI results for the most frequently mentioned countries were as follows: Democratic Republic of the Congo – 33%, Egypt – 44%, South Africa – 38%, Sudan – 29%, Kenya – 83%, and Somalia – 50%. With the exception of Kenya, these countries had a moderate or low share of positive news.

Mentions of aid or interventions by non-African subjects appeared in more than half of the publications, which supports the thesis that African countries are portrayed as dependent entities in need of assistance. It should be noted that the mentioned support largely referred to the Chinese influence on the continent.

Economic issues play a noticeable role in the selection of content for publication. When looking at the most lucrative partners in Chinese exports – South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt, these countries were mentioned frequently or moderately, and had a low or very low PSI index value. Regarding the countries receiving the highest Chinese FDI ⁽⁴⁾ – Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, and Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa were mentioned frequently but had a low PSI value, while Ethiopia appeared very rarely in publications but had a higher PSI. Participation in the BRI programme was not taken into account as nearly all countries on the continent are involved in it.

A certain trend can be observed – the largest economic partners were mentioned more frequently but presented in a less positive manner. This is likely an attempt to justify the expansion of Chinese influence and governance in relation to these countries. If we consider the foreign diplomatic trips made by President Xi Jinping (Turcsányi et al. 2021), the most frequently visited countries in Africa were (previously outlined) South Africa and Egypt, which further confirms the trend described above.

The author's assumptions were fully confirmed – Africa is portrayed in an overall positive manner but, at the same time, as a subject with a strong need for external aid. Economic and diplomatic issues exhibit the same trend – countries that are more profitable for China are mentioned more frequently in CGTN but they have a lower PSI value, which means they are being presented less positively. Finally, the author expresses the hope that media will be more frequently considered in future geographical research.