Media splash reflects summit expectations

Front pages of major dailies in South Africa have been awash with news and commentaries on the forthcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit.

This is considered a major achievement as African media try to portray the continent positively while welcoming the growing relationship with China. It also voiced the rising expectations of the people toward the summit as they look forward to a partner who clearly is serious about the win-win relationship.

The South African Independent Newspaper Group actively engaged both its print and social media platforms to drum up support for the summit on Friday and Saturday. The summit is co-hosted by President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma.

The Star Lead SA and Business Report, which are widely circulated in Johannesburg, committed premium pages to highlighting the cordial relationship between China and South Africa and the expected benefits from the two-day summit.

Opinion pieces from experts were also published, both in print and on websites, with corresponding articles appearing on social media.

Readers of the various publications have been presented incisive pieces by scholars who delved into the sustainability of the China-Africa relationship, which is seen as entering a crucial stage.

"For the first time, Africans can tell their own stories. It is time these stories are sold to international media rather than Africa buying stories from them that do not give the true picture of our aspirations," said Iqbal Surve, owner of the Independent Group, during a round table in Johannesburg on media contributions.

"It is time we spread the positive narrative about Africa that is not shared by many publications," said Surve.

On Tuesday, Business Report's front page featured the banner headline "SA-China ties set for boost".

Its sister newspaper, The Star Lead SA, had the Chinese president's pre-visit message on the front page on Tuesday. Under the headline "Rainbow of Friendship", the article emphasized the firm foundation of the China-Africa friendship.

On Twitter, a user named Lwazistos said, "Forget about learning Western languages. China is the big brother that's gonna bail you out in time of need."

Messi Bala, a Cameroonian print media journalist with Agence Regionale De L'est, said people-to-people relationships are cemented by positive media coverage.

"People at home are eager to read good news about FOCAC because it directly touches on their lives," Bala said.