What do newspapers make of China in the South Pacific?

The purpose of this research note is to provide an empirical indication of how China's increasing role in the South Pacific has been presented in their own and other nations' media over the last 20 years. What is the tone of coverage? Which issues are salient? How does this vary by nation? What changes are there over time? This research note reports information derived from over 1000 articles published in Australasian, Asian and Pacific newspapers in the last 20 years. The findings demonstrate that nations dealing with China's rise in the South Pacific are faced with a range of complex issues, which can produce ambivalent and mixed reactions. For instance, although the tone of Australian and New Zealand newspaper coverage of China's entry into their special patch is, overall, more negative than positive, negativity is largely driven by coverage of China's diplomatic efforts in the region and geopolitical considerations. Other aspects of China's expanding role (e.g. economic and cultural aspects) are treated much more positively. Similarly, although the major focus of Pacific newspapers is on Chinese aid and economic impact, which are treated very positively, coverage of other issues can be negative.