Narrating the other: the Chinese media’s representation of European integration and China–EU relations in the context of Brexit

By studying representations of European integration and China–European Union (EU) relations after Brexit in China’s state-owned newspapers, this article examines how China views the EU in the context of Brexit. Brexit has been a turning point for European integration, reflecting a trend of regional Euroscepticism and worldwide anti-globalism. Both Chinese and European representations of Brexit have impacted the bilateral relations between these two major international actors. Chinese views on European integration and China–EU relations after Brexit not only influence Chinese foreign policy towards the EU but also perform some—if not all—aspects of China’s self-perceived identity. As with other countries, the Chinese news media has taken part in this performance of national identity and interest, representing the EU after Brexit as the “Other” in comparison to China as the “Self”. This article argues that the representations of the EU projected by the Chinese media to internal and external audiences reflect and help construct Chinese identity as a global actor in a multipolar world. It also emphasises the media’s complex, evolving role as both a mouthpiece for official government discourse aiming to guide public opinion and a forum for debate among professional academic and journalistic commentators within an emerging public sphere.