China and EU should engage each other's news media to avoid misunderstandings
2/2/2010
Even though differences between the EU and China are unlikely to be resolved in the short term, engaging the news media can help improve communications, and consequently better understanding, between the two partners, according to an article published in the EU-China Observer by Dr Li Zhang, Research Fellow at the China Policy Institute, The University of Nottingham.
The news media in the modern mediated information society is an effective communicative tool and serves as a vital information source in the development of EU-China relations for both policy-makers and the general public, Dr Zhang wrote
As such, it has become an important element that cannot be ignored at both the government and public levels in EU-China communication, according to the paper entitled “The EU and China: Engaging the News Media to Promote Mutual Understanding.”*
Based on an analysis of the operation of communications in EU-China relations from the institutional perspective and first-hand interview materials, the paper discusses specifically the ways in which both sides can work together to improve communications and stresses the role played by the news media in promoting mutual understanding.
Greater mutual understanding would allow the two partners to resolve short-term differences over issues ranging from human rights, the Dalai Lama and Tibet and the arms embargo to trade disputes and trade deficits that create obstacles to further development of China-EU relations, according to the paper.
This in turn would enable the two partners to build on their similiarities and common interests -- a common outlook on the world order, a multilateralistic approach to international affairs, economic and trade complementarities, and non-conflicting security interests in the Asian-Pacific region, Dr Zhang said.
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* L. ZHANG, 2009. The EU and China: Engaging the news media to promote mutual understanding. EU-China Observer, (4), 19-25.