ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 overviews the historical relationship between China and the US, including the role of US elections in shaping US–China policy, enduring issues of conflict between the two nations, and perspectives of the 2016 US presidential election from Chinese media. The chapter provides both quantitative and qualitative findings that shows how Chinese media demonstrated a strong interest in this election, but focused less on substantive policy issues. The chapter explores the key findings, including the focus in Chinese media coverage on the scandals surrounding both the US presidential candidates. Moreover, Chinese media coverage often cited the failings of US democratic governance, while juxtaposing narratives of effective Chinese governance and resurgent strength vis-à-vis the US. Taken together, Chinese media narratives showcase declining US soft power by challenging its moral and practical authority in articulating effective governance models, while legitimizing the Chinese leaderships’ policies in modernizing and governing China.
