Global Times investigates: Negative reports about China in Western media seen a recent decline, has China changed or Western media changed?

Editor's Note:

For a long time, the narratives surrounding China in some Western media outlets have been rife with misinformation, bias, and even hostility. Through their tinted lenses, it has been difficult for international readers to gain a true and comprehensive understanding of China.

However, it seems there have been some changes in this situation recently. Some Chinese netizens have observed a shift in the tone of some Western media outlets' reporting on China, moving from a predominantly negative perspective to a more objective one. Even the BBC, a broadcaster that has faced longstanding criticism from Chinese netizens for its biased and misleading coverage, has begun to present a more balanced and positive portrayal of China.

What has prompted this change? Are Western media outlets becoming "friendlier" toward China? The Global Times has conducted an analysis using big data, engaged with AI models, and reviewed a wider array of recent Western media reports to uncover the answers. This is the first installment in the series.

Recently, the BBC released a seven-minute video titled "DeepSeek, TikTok, Temu: How China is Taking the Lead in Tech," in which it praises China's rapid development in the technology sector is approaching the forefront of the world, and partly owes this development to the Chinese government's long-term plan.

As a broadcaster that has long been involved in the reporting of politics inside and outside the UK, many of the BBC's practices have been criticized by Chinese netizens for biased and fake reporting on China. On Chinese social media platforms, some netizens termed its video editing style as a "hell filter" as they found the BBC always added a dark filter to the videos captured in China to portray the country in a negative light. Some netizens even conducted on-site investigations of the dimly lit street scenes featured in BBC programs to prove that these areas were actually quite bright.

The "sudden change" in its reporting tone triggered heated discussions on Chinese social media platforms, with many saying that they feel somewhat "unfamiliar" with the BBC, asking "what happened to BBC?"

A comment linking this change at the BBC to Trump administration's decision to shut down USAID on February 3, which reads "Looks like USAID payments to the BBC have stopped," has gained around 7,000 likes on YouTube as of press time.

Similarly, Bloomberg, a mainstream US media outlet that has published numerous negative China-related stories that AI large language model ERNIE Bot (also known as Wenxin Yiyan) described as having "previously exhibited a certain negative bias in its coverage of China," spoke highly of the impressive box office performance of the Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 in a video interview on February 10.

Apart from that, some Chinese netizens also found that previously, some Western media reports on China, covering topics from social governance to emerging industries, were often filled with skepticism. Even when the content itself was positive, authors would attempt to "balance" the narrative, as seen in the common phrasing of titles like "...but at what cost?" For example, "China is getting smarter - but at what cost?" by the BBC, and "'Made in China 2025' has been a success, but at what cost?" by The Economist.

Now, these titles seem to have decreased in frequency recently. "Some media outlets suddenly dropped the 'but at what cost?'" wrote a user on RedNote. "Was USAID really that important?" the user quipped.

Figures tell

Has there been a change in the negative coverage of China by Western media outlets recently just as some Chinese netizens have observed? Big data can provide a clear assessment. The Global Times selected media coverage from eight major Western countries including the US, the UK, Canada, and Germany on a data monitoring platform, based on a four-week time frame: January 28 to February 3, February 4 to 10, February 11 to 17, and February 18 to 24.

Based on the categories of the coverage sentiment shown on the platform as neutral, positive, or negative, the Global Times found that during the week of January 28 to February 3, among the China-related reports from the selected media outlets, there were 1.03 million articles with a neutral tone, 113,000 articles with a positive tone, and 435,000 articles with a negative tone.

In the following week, February 4 to February 10, the numbers were 831,000 neutral, 93,100 positive, and 265,000 negative. In the week of February 11 to February 17, there were 794,000 neutral articles, 95,700 positive articles, and 187,000 negative articles. The latest week of February 18 to 24 saw 754,000 neural articles and 88,900 positive ones, while the number of negative articles continued declining to 183,000.

Compared to the relatively stable numbers of neutral and positive articles, the quantity of negative coverage on China from these eight Western countries showed a significant decline, dropping from 435,000 to 265,000, to 187,000, and 18,300 over the four weeks. Although the total number of negative articles still exceeded that of positive ones, it can be seen that the tone of Western media outlets saw a decline in its negative narratives.

The Global Times also asked several Chinese large models, such as DeepSeek, Wenxin Yiyan, and Doubao, whether there is a declining trend in Western media's negative reports on China, they responded that there has indeed been a trend in US media to reduce negative reporting on China. Wenxin Yiyan gave a more detailed answer, which stated that recently, especially since February, Western media's coverage of China has undergone a change, shifting from the previous "dark filter" narrative to a more objective and positive reporting style. This transformation is reflected not only in the quantity of coverage but also in the content and perspectives presented.

Factors behind

So, regarding the recent decline of negative reports about China in Western media outlets, has China changed, or has Western media changed?

Chinese experts reached by the Global Times believe that the reduction in the USAID budget may be a factor influencing short-term adjustments in the coverage of China by some Western media outlets. However, this impact does not indicate a fundamental shift in their stance.

In the long term, China's technological advancements and the effectiveness of international cooperation initiatives will continue to be the key drivers in shaping international public opinion. Meanwhile, negative narratives arising from the context of Western strategic competition with China are likely to persist, they noted.

Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, believes that the shift in the tone of some Western media reports indicated that many of their negative reports about China were "specifically manufactured."

Now that USAID has ceased operations, it means the mechanism for producing negative information about China has malfunctioned. It's like unplugging a machine from the power source - once the upstream is disconnected, the downstream loses power, effectively paralyzing the central nervous system, Shen told the Global Times.

Based on reports and public information, USAID has funded media sources through various means, including direct subscriptions and financial support.

The recent shift may also be attributed to the growing awareness of some Western media outlets, which began to recognize that in comparison to China, the West is apparently grappling with more significant problems, said Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University.

However, whether the decline trend has anything to do with the closure of USAID or some sort of political game in the West, or other factors, China is not afraid of the "hell filter," nor does it need a "beauty camera." A true, objective, just, and wonderful China will bring endless warmth and surprise to the world, Li said.

This article first appeared in the Global Times: 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202502/1329210.shtml