ABSTRACT

This chapter analyses the role of the media in influencing mutual perceptions between China and India. A quantitative and qualitative content analysis is made of mutual coverage in mainstream newspapers and social media platforms. The findings show that recurring hostile coverage by the mainstream media plays a significant role in coloring Chinese and Indian views of each other, perpetuating negative stereotypes. Such intertwining coverage becomes mutually reinforcing and accentuates bilateral tensions. During the Doklam standoff, popular comments on Chinese social media carried strong confrontational sentiments toward India, largely reflecting the tone of the Chinese state media. Although coverage of bilateral economic relations has been mostly positive in the Indian media, it also highlights the anxieties caused by the increasingly asymmetrical nature of the relationship, as seen in the growing trade deficit. But cultural exchanges stand out in this cycle of animosity. The growing popularity of “Bollywood” films in China has shown to be able to temper popular anger even moments as explosive as Doklam, making them an important cross-cultural bridge.