How do Chinese journalists perceive us?
This report examines how Chinese-language media portray Europe and the Netherlands, and how Chinese journalists perceive and report on Dutch society. These representations play a crucial role in shaping the decisions of Chinese immigrants, students, tourists, investors and institutions to engage with the Netherlands.
Rather than relying on Western media, Chinese audiences primarily base their views of Europe and the Netherlands on reporting in Chinese-language media. Understanding how these media operate, and how narratives about the Netherlands are constructed, is therefore essential to understanding Chinese perceptions of Europe.
Authors
- Pál Nyíri is a professor of Global History from an Anthropological Perspective at Vrije
Universiteit in Amsterdam. His specialisations include Chinese migration, Chinese media and
Chinese overseas investments. For this publication, he studied Chinese correspondents in
Europe. - Garrie van Pinxteren is a sinologist and former correspondent in China. She works for the
Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael and the master’s programme
Journalism at the University of Groningen. Over the past eighteen months, she studied the
Chinese media and how Chinese journalists perceive the Netherlands, on behalf of the
Leiden Asia Centre. - Bei Wang is an editor and media/communication expert. She combines working for
organisations including RNW with running her own media consultancy firm. In October
2016, she became project coordinator for Helan Online. She researched Chinese social media
and their reports on the Netherlands for this publication. - Jialu Zhang studied Journalism and Media in Beijing, Aarhus and Amsterdam, and works as
a producer. For this publication, she mapped out the presence and activities of Chinese media
organizations in Europe, and publications by Chinese media on the Netherlands.
This report forms part of the broader Nederland door Chinese ogen publication, which examines interactions between China and the Netherlands, including migration, media, business and education. The full report, including analysis and policy recommendations, is available as a PDF.
