Yuwen Gu

How is China portrayed and interpreted in the European media? As a friend, as an enemy, a rival, or as a distant, yet unknown partner? Is China being “heatedly discussed” and “severely demonized” as some Chinese scholars have believed? (Li Xiguang, 1996) In order to provide answers to these questions, I center my research on China’s national image in the European media ecosystem. With a methodological research focus in content analysis and critical discourse analysis, I analyse news reports and publications to depict changes and the usage of discourse by European media and how these images created influence inter-cultural communication.

With an education background in political science from Renmin University of China, I graduated with Distinction in 2016 from the master programme named New Media and Society in Europe from VUB. Recently, my paper about Chinese National Image in Euronews was presented in the 7th European Communication Conference (ECC) “Centers and Peripheries: Communication, Research, Translation”. Apart from academics, I also work with non-governmental organizations and think tanks in Brussels to promote China-EU academic and cultural dialogue and exchange projects. In 2017, I was elected president of Chinese Students and Scholars’ Association of Brussels.