Abstract
interpretations of its growing influence: Sino-pessimism, Sino-optimism, and Sino-pragmatism. While China's involvement in Africa is multifaceted, its investment in African telecommunications stands out because of its dual impact – its correlation with economic growth and concerns about cyber-security and national security. This study contributes to ongoing debates on China's growing influence in Africa by comparing and contrasting how Western and African-oriented global news agencies, PANAPRESS and Reuters, discursively construct China's investment in African telecommunications and the discursive strategies they employ. Informed by Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory, new institutionalism, and Bourdieu's field theory, this study, which adopts the Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) case study, utilises the Discourse Historical Approach to analyse stories published by the two news agencies between 2010 and 2021. Within this timeframe, the two news agencies published a total of 205 stories. The stories were inductively grouped into two categories (topics) – the economic impact of Chinese telecommunications, and the political and national security implications of Chinese telecommunications. The findings indicate that the two news agencies differ in their interpretation of China's investment in African telecommunications. Although they both incorporate elements of Sino-pessimism and Sino-optimism, each leans toward a particular perspective. Reuters leans toward Sino-pessimism while PANAPRESS tends to promote Sino-optimism. Both agencies exhibit elements of Sino-pragmatism, as they recognise both the benefits and drawbacks of China's investment in African telecommunications, though to different extents. PANAPRESS highlights the positive economic impact of Chinese telecommunications and cites African leaders' support for China. The news agency employs various discursive strategies such as exclusion, and the topos of history and authority. On the other hand, Reuters, while acknowledging the positive economic impact of Chinese telecommunications, emphasises their negative impact on national security and the economies of African countries. The news agency employs various discursive strategies, such as suppression, predication, and the topos of danger. PANAPRESS and Reuters' discourses are shaped by primary definers (sources) who leverage the news agencies to advance their agendas. African and Chinese leaders favourably position China while African opposition parties and Western-affiliated organisations negatively position China and its telecommunications. The perspectives of these sources remain consistent across both news agencies, indicating their strong influence on media discourses. Drawing on PANAPRESS and Reuters' discourses on China's investment in African telecommunications, this study proposes two conflicting models for understanding how global journalism shapes and constructs geopolitical processes.