Once again, European media outlets large and small are making direct or indirect use of the racist slogan that characterised Western representations of China and East Asia in the 19th century.

Negative representations have long dominated Western reporting on China. It can be argued that this is only fair since such bad news merely reflects bad realities. It can seem morally prudent to highlight shortcomings in a certain country as long as they persist. The long-term repetition of negative news, however, can have a number of unintended negative consequences.

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Constant negative reporting eventually creates a negative image not only of a country but also of its people. German football player Sandro Wagner, who moved to China in 2019, said in a recent interview that he was pleasantly surprised by the Chinese people, after getting a negative impression of them from the media. Media reporting can breed stereotypes which, once they have taken root, are hard to shake.

A long-standing negative narrative also perpetuates a tendency, on the part of the media, to cast any news event in a perceived rogue state in a similar political light. The characterisation of the coronavirus as a national product springs from this very mechanism. In one stroke, an epidemic has transformed from a medical issue into more evidence that something is fundamentally wrong with a certain nation.

Der Spiegel, however, obviously feels no need to refrain from fanning the flames, even though its latest issue came out as the German media reported a violent attack against a young Chinese woman in Berlin.

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Certainly, the Western media cannot be accused of intentionally spreading hatred when reporting negatively on China. From their perspective, they are presenting justified and necessary political and social criticism. Such reporting is intended not only for Western audiences, but also for the Chinese people.

The hope is that such criticism will open Chinese citizens’ eyes and inspire them to make changes for the better. However, this sentiment is not only paternalistic and but also smacks of a new kind of colonialism. In fact, such an assumption might be deeply mistaken and is backfiring on the Western media.

The Western media’s one-note narrative of China is eroding their credibility among the Chinese audiences they seek. Once upon a time, many Chinese people trusted foreign media more than their own, and regarded the West as a haven of free speech. But this is now changing.

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The Western media are less and less regarded as a more objective and informative alternative to the Chinese state media, and more and more as just another source of political propaganda.

Persistently negative reporting on China has not pushed the Chinese people to embrace liberal views; rather, it makes many of them feel discriminated against, slighted and insulted. Such feelings only feed defiance, and foster a new nationalism.

This defiant Chinese nationalism in the face of foreign disesteem is in turn encouraged, and appropriated, by the Chinese media and government – who seek to appear as guardians of national honour and strength.

Essentially, sensationalist and borderline racist journalism not only fuels anti-Chinese sentiments in the West but also a new wave of nationalism in China. It runs the risk of contributing to a vicious circle of resentment, counter-resentment and ultimately, conflict and violence.

Dr Hans-Georg Moeller is a professor in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Programme at the University of Macau