China and the Ukraine war: Global Times’ strategic narratives

Emilie Tran Sautedé; Fei Vincent Mo; Jiawei Tang

doi:10.1177/17427665251328117

China and the Ukraine war: Global Times’ strategic narratives

Emilie Tran Sautedé, Fei Vincent Mo^*, Jiawei Tang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Journalism

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

Abstract

The study examines Global Times’ strategic narratives on the Russia-Ukraine War (2022–2024) by analysing 301 articles through issue, identity and systemic frameworks. It reveals China’s framing of the conflict as a US-Russia proxy war, positioning itself as a neutral mediator advocating multilateral dialogue while critiquing Western hegemony. The narratives portray Russia as a rational actor defending sovereignty, Ukraine as weakened yet reckless, and Europe-EU as internally fractured. Systemically, China projects a multipolar vision, blending realist power dynamics with idealist peace-building. The findings underscore China’s media diplomacy in contesting Western discourse and advancing its global governance agenda.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	65-89
Number of pages	25
Journal	Global Media and Communication
Volume	21
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/17427665251328117
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 11 Apr 2025

User-Defined Keywords

Anti-Western hegemony
China’s foreign policy
global governance reform
Global Times
media ecology
multipolar world order
peace mediation
Russia-Ukraine war
Sino-Russian relations
strategic narratives

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

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title = "China and the Ukraine war: Global Times{\textquoteright} strategic narratives",

abstract = "The study examines Global Times{\textquoteright} strategic narratives on the Russia-Ukraine War (2022–2024) by analysing 301 articles through issue, identity and systemic frameworks. It reveals China{\textquoteright}s framing of the conflict as a US-Russia proxy war, positioning itself as a neutral mediator advocating multilateral dialogue while critiquing Western hegemony. The narratives portray Russia as a rational actor defending sovereignty, Ukraine as weakened yet reckless, and Europe-EU as internally fractured. Systemically, China projects a multipolar vision, blending realist power dynamics with idealist peace-building. The findings underscore China{\textquoteright}s media diplomacy in contesting Western discourse and advancing its global governance agenda.",

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AB - The study examines Global Times’ strategic narratives on the Russia-Ukraine War (2022–2024) by analysing 301 articles through issue, identity and systemic frameworks. It reveals China’s framing of the conflict as a US-Russia proxy war, positioning itself as a neutral mediator advocating multilateral dialogue while critiquing Western hegemony. The narratives portray Russia as a rational actor defending sovereignty, Ukraine as weakened yet reckless, and Europe-EU as internally fractured. Systemically, China projects a multipolar vision, blending realist power dynamics with idealist peace-building. The findings underscore China’s media diplomacy in contesting Western discourse and advancing its global governance agenda.

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KW - media ecology

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China and the Ukraine war: Global Times’ strategic narratives

Abstract

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UN SDGs

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