The Millennium Nucleus ICLAC held a new ICLAC Seminar on September 26, titled “China's Communication Strategy in Latin America: Implications for Journalism and the Public Sphere”, featuring postdoctoral researcher from UKRI at the London School of Economics (LSE), Pablo Morales.
The event was attended by academics from the Nucleus, as well as students from the History and Culture of China course taught by María Montt, ICLAC's alternate director, and José Miguel Vidal, ICLAC's postdoctoral researcher.
Pablo Morales's research examines global media flows and journalistic cultures in the Global South. He is currently leading a multidisciplinary research project spanning three years (2023–2026) that investigates China's international communication strategy in Latin America (CICLA).
China’s Strategies in Latin America
During his presentation, Morales highlighted three key strategies that China has used to project its image abroad. The first strategy, “building ships to go to sea”, involves establishing its media outlets, such as CGTN and Xinhua, which communicate in multiple languages to local and global audiences. The researcher noted that some of the main challenges China faces in Latin America relate to the intense competition from international media that have established a stronger presence, such as the Russian channel RT or France24.
The second strategy, termed “borrowing ships to go to sea”, involves collaboration between Chinese media and local media actors. The researcher presented several examples of successful co-productions, such as the documentary series Mundo China in collaboration with Brazil's Bandeirantes channel. These partnerships allow China to diversify its image, presenting itself as a peaceful, responsible power committed to global development, in contrast to the “threat” or “collapse” narratives that often prevail in Western media.
Finally, Morales discussed the third strategy: training Latin American journalists in China, an initiative announced by President Xi Jinping in 2016. Through these programs, the aim is to foster a more nuanced understanding of China, encouraging greater plurality in media coverage of the country.
Implications for Latin American Journalism
The dialogue moderated by Morales also addressed the implications of these strategies for journalism in Latin America. China's influence on local media presents both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, these collaborations allow for a diversification of information sources and direct access to one of the world's major powers. However, the speaker warned about the challenges associated with the asymmetrical relationship between local media and the Chinese media apparatus, highlighting strong editorial control.
In this context, a crucial question arose: To what extent do partnerships with Chinese media contribute to an objective and balanced understanding of the Chinese reality in Latin America? And, more importantly, how does this affect the public sphere in the region? The case of Brazil, where the BandNews channel was accused of bias towards China, was an example of the tensions that can arise in these scenarios.
The event concluded with an open discussion among attendees, who reflected on the role of journalism in shaping international images and the impact of media narratives on geopolitical relations. As Morales mentioned, the challenge for journalists and communicators in Latin America lies in finding a balance between leveraging opportunities for cooperation and maintaining editorial independence in the face of external narratives.