IMAGINEA CHINEI ÎN MASS MEDIA DIN ROMÂNIA

This study examines the portrayal of China in Romanian mainstream media from 2013 to 2023, utilizing big data natural language processing methods for sentiment analysis. The research aims to understand the emotional tendencies of Romanian media coverage of China across various domains such as economy, politics, culture, and diplomacy. If our start hypothesis posited that Romanian media coverage of China would be predominantly neutral, however, the analysis reveals that negative sentiments dominate, accounting for 54.56% of the coverage, while neutral and positive sentiments constitute 28.27% and 17.17%, respectively. This challenges the initial hypothesis and indicates a significant negative bias in Romanian media’s portrayal of China. The study identifies key factors influencing this bias, including international political dynamics, media framing, specific events like the COVID-19 pandemic, and ideological differences. The findings underscore the importance of understanding media influences on national image and suggest the need for strategic communication to foster a more balanced and accurate representation of China in Romanian media.