Strategy framing of international conflicts A multi-dimensional framework for transnational comparative content analysis

International conflicts unfold more often in the form of economic friction than armed clashes since World War II. The interdependence of economic activities and political combats is reflected in media coverage, particularly regarding the conflicts involving China and Western countries. With China’s rapid growth, its foreign policies, e.g., the trade issues, are often portrayed by foreign media as challenges to the established world order. To clarify the manifold dimensions within international conflict reports, this study departs from framing theory, specifically focusing on issue and strategy framing derived from research on Western domestic political news. Taking countries more than politicians as competitive subjects, our newly modified framing can be employed to compare international conflict reporting across different systems. This theoretical chapter first elaborates on the structural power theories based on the international political economy (IPE). Then, we review the commonly used theories to study foreign conflict coverage. Finally, we propose a framework for studying international conflict news with the China–US trade conflict as an example to explain how this framework can be applied in content analysis.