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Инициатива «Пояс и Путь» на Ближнем Востоке: взгляд СМИ Китая и Саудовской Аравии
This research contributes to the study of the perception of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative in the world. Due to the strategic position of the region at the crossroads between Asia, Europe and Africa, the Middle East is vital for the implementation of the Chinese initiative. Using frame analysis, we compare how the media of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) cover the participation of Middle Eastern countries in the Belt and Road Initiative. Saudi Arabia was chosen due to the fact that it is the largest economy among Arab countries, a global energy power and the home of two of Islam's holy sanctuaries, which makes it an influential actor in the Middle East, whose support is important for China's projects in the region. Articles for 2019-2021 from five media outlets were selected as sources of data: Saudi Al-Riyadh and Okaz and Chinese People's Daily, Global Times and Xinhua. Articles were selected by keywords, the selection included those where there we could find the entire group of keywords. In order to narrow the sample, we concentrated on the Arab countries of the Middle East, so a combination of this group of words was used: “China”, “Arab countries”, “Middle East” and “Belt and Road.” As a result of the study, it was revealed that the press of both countries focusses only on the advantages of the initiative, such as mutual benefit, “dialogue on equal terms”, stimulating the technological development of the participating countries, etc. Formalism is a common feature of publications in the media of the KSA and the PRC; many phrases and expressions, and sometimes whole sentences are used from article to article without visible changes. It is interesting that Chinese and Saudi journalists compare and contrast the Belt and Road Initiative with the US projects, which in turn are criticized. There are a large number of articles in the PRC media focus on the recovery of the Middle East countries after the COVID-19 pandemic, and emphasis is placed on the positive role of the PRC in this process, while the KSA media write more about bilateral cooperation. This can be explained by the PRC's desire to reformat the image of the “culprit” in the pandemic into a “benefactor” who provides all the necessary assistance to the affected countries. In addition, the Saudi press often uses Chinese ideological concepts and formulations in its materials, for example, the idea of a “community of the common destiny of mankind”. This demonstrates the success of China's discursive power in popularizing this narrative among Middle Eastern elites.