Fu Manchu versus Dr Livingstone in the Dark Continent? Representing China, Africa and the West in British broadsheet newspapers

In recent years diplomatic and economic relations between China and many African countries have deepened. This has been driven largely by China's remarkable economic growth, which has increased demand for energy and commodities, thus encouraging trade and investment with different African countries. Additionally, China is playing a key role in the emerging challenge to the unequal architecture of global trade and governance, for which it seeks political allies. For Africa, the impacts of these deepening relationships are mixed. Rising commodity prices, direct investment, aid, and cheap consumer goods can be beneficial; but China also threatens to undercut local manufacturing sectors and compete for export markets, notably in textiles. China also has a history of support for authoritarian and corrupt regimes, and its (stated) insistence on non-interference in sovereign affairs may undermine more progressive efforts towards accountability, transparency, conflict reduction, and environmental and social protection. This paper explores how UK broadsheet newspapers represent China's complex relations in Africa, and in doing so, how they reflect on the West's own role(s) in Africa. The paper concludes by debating the importance of these media images at a time when China's rise is being anxiously observed by western publics and policy communities. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.