New Media and Digital Diplomacy: Analysing the Influence of Chinese State Media on Pakistan’s National Branding and Soft Power Strategy

Abstract

The paper examines how the Chinese state media impacts the national branding and soft power approach of Pakistan, especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It examines the influence of the Chinese media houses such as CGTN, Xinhua, and China daily on the perception of Pakistan by using digital diplomacy and media stories. The study uses qualitative content analysis and sentiment analysis to analyze the articles and social media posts of Chinese state-run outlets. This paper will examine tone, feel and thematic coverage of media reports on CPEC and the economic impact that it has had on Pakistan. The results demonstrate that the Chinese state media is predominantly positive on CPEC, with 80-90 percent of the content showing positive attitude. China Daily dominated the number of articles and social media coverage, which further supports the fact of mutual economic development and positions China as being an important partner. Sentiment analysis proved that the image of CPEC was very positive, there was only a little negative or neutral sentiment. The research concludes that the Chinese media is instrumental in the development of the national image and soft power policy in Pakistan, which is mostly based on framing CPEC. It underlines the importance of digital diplomacy and media narratives to improve the image of Pakistan in the world and its strategic positioning. Nevertheless, the research does not deny limitations, such as the use of media controlled by states and the limited time of analysis.