Crafting fantasies of dominance

Visual framing of Chinese and US leaders in China Pictorial from 1950 to 2021

Bibliographic Data

ID12700656
AuthorsZiye Zang (0009-0006-1015-8452, University of Leeds, corresponding author)
Year2025
Publication date2025-08-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueVisual Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-3572 • E-ISSN: 1741-3214
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14703572251356650
OpenAlexW4413301945
LanguageEN
References cited48

This study conducts visual content and framing analysis to compare the images of Chinese and US leaders in China Pictorial ( N = 153). Drawing from the images that juxtaposed US and Chinese leaders, the author aims to examine how the ‘fantasy’ of US–China power dynamics is visually crafted by Chinese party-controlled media across three Chinese political eras, spanning from 1950 to 2021. In Mao’s era, China was visualized as resisting US dominance; China appeared to be making advances in global politics in Deng’s era; and under Xi, China was depicted as a courteous great power distinct from the US. These shifting fantasy themes coalesce to craft a rhetorical vision of China as a humble great power challenging and potentially eclipsing US hegemony. This article advances visual political communication by illustrating China’s constructed state power through media, challenging US-centric narratives and tracing the historical shifts in perceived Sino–US power dynamics

Aesthetics · Art · Biology · China · Dominance (genetics · Framing (construction · Media studies · Political science · Sociology · Visual arts · Visual media · Chinese history and philosophy · Cultural Differences and Values · History · Law · Military History and Strategy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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