The China Story: a media narrative analysis of Beijing's global communications

This research concerns usage of strategic messages by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its English-language communications about China’s foreign policy, as conveyed via Xinhua. Message usage in Xinhua was tracked over 11 years (2008-2018) with a focus on events, inside and outside of China, that influenced these messages. Analysis revealed that the CCP is not just focused on ‘telling its story’, but also on having its rhetoric adopted in international agreements and suppressing counter-narratives. This thesis sheds new light on what CCP leadership seeks to communicate and why, and about internal and external factors influencing their foreign policy thinking.