Guarding China Narratives
from Part II - China’s Image-Making Mechanisms in Ethiopia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 June 2026
Chapter 5 explores the sharper edges of China’s image-making and illuminates the subtle, multifaceted silencing that permeates China’s diplomacy. The experiences of Ethiopian journalists, PR professionals, officials, and scholars point to the core feature of censorship as controlled information release. This includes proactive selective publicity and information withdrawals, as well as spontaneous and reactive silencing, at times carried out by non-state actors. Ethiopian elites reinforce the efforts of Chinese stakeholders and co-discipline China narratives out of their own strategic interest in upholding a positive relationship with China. At the same time, in private spaces, these same elites also articulate and spread negative stories about China through satire and rumors.
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