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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
CAO Lingjing, LI Shaoxi
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2026.10.004
Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi, China Anhui University, Hefei, China
This study employs content analysis to systematically examine how Thai media construct China’s national image, drawing on an investigation of China-related reports published by the Thai Rath News Network (Thailand’s leading online news outlet) in 2022. Ten keywords related to China’s image were selected, 539 articles were manually collected, and 320 valid samples were retained after screening. The analysis was conducted along four dimensions: reporting frequency, news type, reporting tendency, and the counterpart countries of China’s international issues. The findings show that Thai Rath published 330 China-related articles in 2022, averaging approximately 27 articles per month. Political and diplomatic coverage dominated (53.9%), followed by economic, trade, and technological news (27.6%). Reporting tendencies were primarily objective narration (57.2%), with negative reporting accounting for 26.8% and positive or friendly reporting only 16.0%. The study indicates that Thai media present China’s image relatively positively and objectively in the political, economic, cultural, and military domains; however, critical stances emerge on sensitive issues such as Taiwan and human rights, and perceptions of the “national image” of Chinese people have been negatively affected by incidents such as the Du Hao case. This research provides empirical evidence for understanding Thai media’s framing of China-related reporting and offers a reference for China’s international communication strategies toward Thailand.
Thai media, Thai Rath, China’s national image, China-related reporting, content analysis
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, October 2026, Vol. 16, No. 10, 818-827
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