Media debates about China’s role as a global public goods supplier: frame contestation in reporting on the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine

Abstract This study examines different and even conflicting media frames for the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine as a global public good. Through a standardised content analysis approach examining media frames for the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine across three media outlets, the study reveals that Chinese media emphasise the safety and efficacy of their vaccines, highlighting their benefits for the international community. Conversely, the US and German media express apprehensions about China’s ‘vaccine diplomacy’ and perceive it as a political threat. Notably, Germany exhibits a relatively softer stance in this context, implying the existence of various attitudes and behaviours within the US and Europe in terms of coping with China’s rising influence. This case reflects the ongoing competition between superpowers, with the ‘China Threat Theory’ and the ‘China Responsibility Theory’ representing two major ideas dominating international discourse about China. China’s identity as a global public goods supplier in the context of the global pandemic may not make it more acceptable as a responsible great power, but rather, create more Western anxieties over China’s threat to the liberal international order.