Mass media: Playground of stereotyping

<jats:p> China’s position in the world has grown, but reliable information about China and reporting on China is often problematic due to reasons both from European and Chinese side. This leads to speculation, creation of wrong perceptions, the situation where journalists and writers copy each other. Before turning to issues at stake in the practice of mass media reporting about China in the West, this article considers the historical background, namely the postcolonial context, the schools of thought of Eurocentrism, Sinocentrism, Orientalism and Occidentalism. It also contemplates the information flow in China and in Europe respectively, as it takes place in different cultural, social and political contexts. Against this background, this article looks into issues in the practice of media reporting and the production of journalistic texts about China in Europe, such as news selection and news value, journalists and writers, language issues and presentation and representation of China in mass media in the West. </jats:p>