Specific features of shaping the image of PRC political leader in American and Chinese media

Mass media play a significant role in the creation of politicians’ image and transmission it to the audience. The paper aims to identify the factors that influence Xi Jinping’s image created in the Chinese and American media. It includes features of the Chinese and American media systems and methods of analysis of the media. The paper is based on the content and framing analyses of the articles in The New York Times, the People’s Daily and China Daily to identify Xi Jinping’s image and frames within which he is portrayed. Xi Jinping’s image in American newspaper differs from the one in the Chinese press, since it consists of both positive and negative evaluation of him while Chinese journalists provide only the positive image. The major frames within which Xi Jinping is frequently covered are foreign policies and international relations, internal policies, personal life. The factors influencing his image are connected to the events in the world and China’s politics, for example, arrests of officials during the anti-corruption campaign, or the militarization of the South China Sea.