Observation: Overseas media catch "China fever"

The cover of the January 22 issue of US-based Time magazine reads "China: Dawn of a New Dynasty", and inside is a feature article entitled "The China Century".

Time: a passion for China

For this cover story, Time mobilized 12 of its journalists stationed in Beijing, Bangkok, Paris and various African countries. This report is the result of long-term planning and preparation, says Simon Elegant, chief of Time's Beijing branch.

In 2006, even people who hadn't given much thought to China began to grow concerned, he said. Everybody realized the importance of China, including American readers. So Time decided to help its readers by allocating more of its pages to coverage of China. The magazine will have regular columns on China, with the focus on the 2008 Olympic Games, the influence of China and the US on each other in the 21st century, and more.

Time has always had a passion for China, said Richard Stengel, chief editor of the magazine. "Time's co-founder, Henry R. Luce, was born in China, and was fascinated by the country. His passion is also our passion today."

Richard Stengel was proud to have such intelligent "China hands" working for the magazine. Simon Elegant is one of them. Born in Hong Kong, Elegant has a profound understanding of Chinese history and language, and has written two novels in Chinese. His father is also an expert on China who has written many books about the nation. Michael Elliott, the editor of Time International and the author of this week's cover story, holds the same opinion. "Watching China now is like being in one of those science-fiction movies where you can see a whole new planet take shape before your eyesˇ­.It's a story that could have many different outcomes: China could fulfill its sense of destiny and become the next great superpower, or it could succumb to internal strife, as it has many times in its long history. What happens to China ¨C and what happens within China ¨C will affect all of us in one way or another, and we will be there reporting it for you."

Overseas media: balanced reports become mainstream

Time is obviously not the only magazine interested in China. In recent years, reports on China by overseas media have not only increased in number, but changed somewhat in content. Balanced reports have become more mainstream covering a wider range of topics and looking at issues more closely, analysts say. As well as traditional "hot topics" like political, military and Taiwan affairs, China's economic growth, social issues, foreign trade relations and cultural exchanges are now also popular subjects.

The rise of China is without doubt the most discussed phenomenon in the world today. The Economist, the Financial Times, the Deutsche Welle, the South China Morning Post (of Hong Kong) and Chosun Ilbo (of the ROK) all carry regular stories and commentaries on China.

Zhang Guoqing, a research fellow with the Institute of American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, attributes the change to the continuous increase of China's strength. "In the last few years, especially since China's WTO accession, China's soaring international influence and its robust economy have forced the United States to look closely at the important role China plays in today's world. Just as the Time article said, the increasing strength of China is already fact."

In 1994, Time called for China to be contained, but 13 years later, its feature article is entitled "The China Century", senior Brookings researcher Huang Jing said in a Global Times interview. This is testimony to the fact that mainstream Western society is finally accepting China's rise, and that this rise is a peaceful one.

The Chinese public: calm in the face of "China fever"

What is interesting is that the Chinese public has reacted calmly to the "China fever" spread by foreign media. According to a survey conducted by China Youth Daily on Sina.com, 42.7 percent of people questioned disagreed with Time calling the 21st century China's century. Only 38.79 percent agreed that it was indeed China's century and 18.4 percent of people found it "hard to say".

Only 53.17 percent of people surveyed felt the affects of "China fever" worldwide, while 46.83 percent said they had felt no affects whatsoever. More importantly, 47.03 percent believe that "China fever" means more challenges for China, 35.94 percent believe it will create opportunities and 17.03 percent are undecided.

The increase in the number of objective, rational reports on China by overseas media will help build a positive image of China in the international community, and assist the United States and other countries in realizing the necessity of growing with China," said Zhang Guoqing.

However, some analysts voiced the opinion that China, for the moment, should remain calm and refrain from blind optimism.

Reading between the lines of the January 22 Time article, it is possible to see that the US is still constrained by a deep-rooted US-centric mentality, said researcher Yuan Peng from China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. Ideologically it has not moved away from democracy and peace or "historic fatalism" when it comes to the rise and fall of powers. As a result, it has failed to subscribe to the idea of constructive cooperation for mutual benefit and clung to traditional "power" thinking in which the western world will "manage" China's rise together. It will probably take time for America to really understand China, he pointed out.

"The increase in the number of reports on China is a double-edged sword which will inevitably cause anxiety and doubt in some people and countries," said Zhang Guoqing. "This is the cost of growth".

With changes in national strength, Chinese people need to develop a more mature "big country" mentality to properly cope with challenges and pressure in the course of development, said Zhang.

By People's Daily Online