African media representation of FOCAC VI: Towards balanced reporting for effective narratives on China-Africa relationships

Abstract The sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) co-hosted by China and South Africa in Johannesburg was historic in that it was an event to chart the next stage of China-Africa relations. The event was also symbolic in showcasing that FOCAC is co-owned by China and Africa. In view of the growing China-Africa relationship under FOCAC, this study investigates how the media from four main regions in Africa framed this FOCAC. The voices that narrate the FOCAC story, dominant themes and tones were examined from the selected media in South Africa (The Star), Kenya (Daily Nation), Nigeria (Vanguard) and Egypt (Ahram Online). The findings shows that voices of Chinese officials dominated the media in South Africa and Kenya while African voices were given overwhelming focus in Nigeria and Egypt. Optimistic frames and themes were largely used by the media. On the whole, there is evident convergence of outcomes of FOCAC and the narratives in the media which suggests more balanced representation of the China-Africa relations. However, there is bias towards hard and event focused news at the expense of in-depth features that create understanding on fundamental issues such as how FOCAC interacts with the African development goals. Against this view, it is argued that the challenge for the media in Africa is to explore more approaches for effective narratives that dispel misrepresentations and resultant misunderstandings about FOCAC and the China-Africa relationship.