ABSTRACT
In recent years, the relationship between the media and the foreign policy-making process in China has become more interactive and even a typical symbiosis. This paper attempts to conduct preliminary research on this very dynamic and changing relationship in the context of Sino–Japan relations. It argues that the Chinese media helps shape the agenda for foreign policy makers, narrow down the set of policy options, change the pace of policy making and implementation, and influence the direction of the final decision. Yet more often than not, the government still controls and regulates the reporting by the media on foreign policy issues. Once the media is perceived as going too far, the government never hesitates to rein it in through various internal and external mechanisms.
