The minister of foreign affairs of China embarks on a typical odyssey across Africa every year. The custom began in the late 1980s, when Beijing’s top diplomat traveled to many African countries to restate relationships.
The most recent attend, by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, took place in mid-January 2025 and included starts in Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria.
China’s burgeoning impact in Africa was exemplified by fantastic displays of structural might for more than 20 years. From Nairobi’s gleaming buildings to wide ships dotting the country’s shores, China’s opportunities on the globe have surged, reaching over US$ 700 billion by 2023 under the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s massive global infrastructure development plan.
Beijing has, however, attempted to go beyond just streets and skyscrapers and create a play for American people’s hearts and minds. With a clever mixture of reasoning, power and money, Beijing has turned to American internet as a potential pipeline for its political ambitions.
Partnering with local retailers and journalist-training efforts, China has expanded its press footprints in Africa. Its goal? To alter perceptions and establish Beijing as a supplier of resources and assistance as well as a model for development and management.
With proof that some sections of the media give positive coverage of China, the ploy seems to be paying off. However, as people looking into the impact of China’s effect abroad, I’m beginning to hear negative reporting from pro-Beijing countries.
Media beauty rude
China’s policy toward Africa is largely driven by its use of” sweet power,” which is demonstrated by things like the media and cultural programs. Beijing presents this as “win-win assistance” – a ultimate Chinese political phrase mixing collaboration with ethnic politics.
Key to China’s media approach in Africa are two institutions: the China Global Television Network ( CGTN) Africa and Xinhua News Agency.
CGTN Africa, which was set up in 2012, offers a Chinese perspective on American media. The system produces content in several languages, including English, French and Swahili, and its insurance frequently portrays Beijing as a creative partner, reporting on infrastructure projects, trade agreements and social initiatives. Also, Xinhua News Agency, China’s position news agency, today boasts 37 departments on the globe.
By contrast, American media existence in Africa remains relatively limited. The BBC, much inserted due to the United Kingdom’s colonial legacy, also maintains a huge footprints among foreign outlets, but its influence is generally historic rather than expanding.
And as American internet influence in Africa has plateaued, China’s state-backed internet has grown rapidly. The online site is a particularly impacted by this expansion. On Twitter, for instance, CGTN Africa commands a remarkable 4.5 million followers, greatly outpacing CNN Africa, which has 1.2 million — a striking signal of China’s growing soft power reach.
China’s zero-tariff trade policy with 33 African countries showcases how it uses economic policies to mold perceptions. And state-supported media outlets like CGTN Africa and Xinhua are essential to highlighting these initiatives and promoting China’s status as a benevolent partner.
Stories of an “all-weather” or steadfast China-Africa partnership are broadcast widely, and the coverage frequently depicts the grand nature of Chinese infrastructure projects. Amid this glowing coverage, the labor disputes, environmental devastation or debt traps associated with some Chinese-built infrastructure are less likely to make headlines.
Questions of media veracity notwithstanding, China’s strategy is bearing fruit. China’s approval ratings in Africa increased as a result of a Gallup poll from April 2024, as US ratings dropped. Afrobarometer, a pan-African research organization, further reports that public opinion of China in many African countries is positively glowing, an apparent validation of China’s discourse engineering.
Further, studies have shown that pro-Beijing media influences perceptions. According to a survey of Zimbabweans conducted in 2023, those who were exposed to the Chinese media were more likely to have a favorable opinion of Beijing’s economic activities there.
Co-opting local voices
The integration of local media is a clear indication of China’s media strategy’s effectiveness. Through content-sharing agreements, African outlets have disseminated Beijing’s editorial line and stories from Chinese state media, often without the due diligence of journalistic skepticism.
Meanwhile, StarTimes, a Chinese media company, delivers a steady stream of curated depictions of translated Chinese movies, TV shows and documentaries across 30 countries in Africa.
However, China is not just pushing its point through African channels. It’s also taking a lead role in training African journalists, thousands of whom have been lured by all-expenses-paid trips to China under the guise of “professional development“. On such junkets, they receive training that critics say obscures the distinction between skill-building and propaganda, presenting them with perspectives conforming to Beijing’s line.
Ethiopia exemplifies how Beijing’s media and infrastructure investments have largely contributed to a favorable perception of the country. State media outlets, often staffed by journalists trained in Chinese-run programs, consistently frame China’s role as one of selfless partnership.
The Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway line is one of the highlights of the project’s benefits, but reports on the subpar labor conditions associated with them are ignored. This is a strategy that is consistent with Ethiopia’s media landscape, where state-run outlets prioritize economic development stories and heavily rely on Xinhua as the main news source.
Chinese oil companies in Angola extract a lot of resources and invest billions in infrastructure projects. The local media frequently portrays Sino-Angolan relations in glowing terms, once again regularly staffed by journalists who have accepted invitations to travel to China.
In the name of common development, allegations of corruption, the displacement of local communities, and environmental degradation are relegated to side notes.
War for Africa’s media soul
Despite all of the Chinese influence, media perspectives in Africa are far from uniformly pro-Beijing.
In Kenya, voices of dissent are beginning to rise, and media professionals immune to Beijing’s allure are probing the true costs of Chinese financial undertakings. Media watchdogs in South Africa are raising alarms by pointing out a gradual decline in press freedoms that comes with growth and prosperity.
In Ghana, concerns about Chinese media influence are more permeated than the journalism industry, as officials have expressed concerns about the impact of Chinese media cooperation agreements. When local journalists started reporting that Chinese-produced content was being prioritized over domestic stories in state media, the heightened vigor in Ghana became even more apparent.
A significant countervailing force exists that challenges uncritical representations and pursues rigorous journalism beneath the surface of China’s well-known projects and media offerings, and the African nations or organizations that embrace Beijing’s line.
However, as CGTN Africa and Xinhua become established in the media ecosystems of Africa, a pressing issue arises: Will journalists and journalists be able to uphold their impartiality and maintain intellectual independence?
As China continues to make strategic inroads in Africa, it’s a fair question.
Mitchell Gallagher is PhD candidate in political science, Wayne State University
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.