User assessment of the importance of online media in Russian-Chinese cooperation

Lyu Sysho PhD in Politics Postgraduate student; Institute 'Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications'; St. Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Universitetskaya nab., 7/9 liusishuo@mail.ru Blokhin Igor' Nikolaevich ORCID: 0000-0002-6582-3951 Doctor of Politics Professor; Institute 'Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications'; St. Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Universitetskaya nab., 7/9 i.blokhin@spbu.ru Gurushkin Pavel Yurievich ORCID: 0000-0001-6980-0573 PhD in Politics Associate Professor; Institute 'Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications'; St. Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Universitetskaya nab., 7/9 gurupavel@yandex.ru

Gromova Tamara Mihailovna ORCID: 0000-0002-8751-5837 PhD in Politics Associate Professor; Institute 'Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications'; St. Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Universitetskaya nab., 7/9 t.gromova@spbu.ru

Introduction

Russian-Chinese cooperation in the field of mass media has more than a century of history. This cooperation began with the assistance of the Comintern in the 1920s in the creation of the Communist Party of China ^{[1, p. 103]}. Socio-political changes in China were largely promoted with the help of the press, which during this period began to be influenced, among other things, by the Soviet press. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, due to the abolition of private ownership, the media came under state control and became a channel for promoting party ideology. It should be noted that in the implementation of this work, the experience of the USSR was borrowed in some points, this is especially noticeable in the example of the emergence of a media structure and reforms of the journalistic education system ^{[2, p. 177]}.

In the second half of the 1950s, cooperation between the USSR and China began to decline in all areas. The reason for this was the negative assessment of the personality cult of I.V. Stalin in the USSR after his death. While in China, the phenomenon of personality cult was considered a significant factor in communist ideology. But despite a significant decrease in interaction, the Chinese party press continued to imitate the Soviet one in its genre, thematic, and ideological incarnation.

The resumption of close cooperation between the USSR and the PRC began to gain momentum only in the 1980s, when both countries began to implement significant internal reforms. In the PRC during these years, the active appearance of new periodicals has become noteworthy, which, among other things, have begun to criticize such social phenomena as corruption, poverty, unemployment, etc. ^{[3, p. 106]}.

The beginning of the 21st century was a period of strengthening Russian-Chinese relations, including through joint participation in the activities of such international organizations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS, the One Belt and One Road projects, etc. The development of joint initiatives between the two states, of course, also requires large-scale information support and interaction in the field of mass communications ^{[4, p. 191]}. An example of the implementation of this direction is the exchange program of Russian and Chinese media specialists organized in 2016-2017, in which participants were able to gain experience in the field of work in the film industry, economic and sports journalism, tourism, etc.

At the same time, analyzing the modern media space of Russia and China, as well as based on the results of sociological surveys, a number of researchers come to the conclusion that at the household level, as well as at the level of free communication in the online environment, there is a manifestation of stereotypes and biased attitudes towards each other in both countries.

Literature review

Researchers see the reason for this attitude in the rather strong cultural difference between Russia and China. Despite the long and close territorial proximity, the majority of Russians associate themselves with European culture and gravitate towards it. While China, from the point of view of Russians, continues to be a rather incomprehensible country with a complex traditional cultural system. Thus, cultural barriers continue to be some obstacle to the organization of high-quality media cooperation ^{[5, p. 21]}.

Analyzing the current trends in the development of media in Russia and China, it is necessary to pay attention to their significant differences. Thus, in China, the media is completely controlled by the state, even despite the development of the private sector in this area in recent years. Censorship is carried out by the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China. There is no special body in charge of censorship in Russia. Attempts to exercise control in the field of mass media are being implemented within the framework of current legislation ^[6].

In 2019, Russia and China signed a partnership agreement, which, among other things, also discussed the need to expand cooperation in the field of media. It has already been mentioned above that the practice of exchanging specialists in the information field has been established. It should also be added that in recent years, there have also been more frequent exchanges on foreign policy issues, as well as increased interaction between the two countries in the framework of media forums.

Su Sh. In his work, he notes that the Chinese-Russian media forum is an effective platform for the exchange of experience on major events, national development, diplomatic decisions, etc. ^{[7, p. 64]}.

It should be noted that cultural events also contribute to the strengthening of international relations. A striking example in the Far Eastern region can be the International Pacific Theater Festival, which takes place at venues in Vladivostok, Russia. Within the framework of this festival, presentations are held, including by Chinese creative teams. Such events not only help strengthen intercultural relations, but also form a positive attitude towards representatives of other cultures, their values, images, symbols and creativity in general. As a rule, if two communities differ significantly enough from each other, not only in the appearance of ethnic representatives, but also in the details of the organization of everyday culture, communication culture, etc., this becomes a factor of distrust and misunderstanding, which affects, among other things, the establishment of political or commercial relations. In this regard, strengthening cultural interaction can help form a more positive and understandable image of another country, and reduce the distance between the two peoples ^{[8, p. 65]}.

The increasingly important role of online media in modern society has not only changed the way information is disseminated, but has also had a profound impact on people's lives and ways of thinking. In cooperation between China and Russia, online media as a key communication tool greatly facilitates interaction and mutual understanding between representatives of the two countries.

The specificity of the essence of each culture lies in the mechanisms of transmission of traditions, customs, norms and rules of behavior from one generation to another. Due to the existence of this mechanism, knowledge and experience necessary to ensure the sustainable functioning of representatives of this culture are transferred. The process of transferring cultural elements to subsequent generations is called cultural transmission. Cultural transmission is a complex and extremely important mechanism for every nation. Its special feature is the presence of specific "filters" that allow you to preserve significant cultural elements and discard outdated or outdated ones. This is how culture retains its terminal values as its basis. At the same time, many authors support the theory of local cultures, which are carried by each representative of a particular community. The most significant factors that unite people into ethnic groups are the unity of territory and language.

Researchers in the field of intercultural communication note that it occurs when communicants belong to different cultures and understand that communication takes place with a representative of a different culture. Thus, in order to ensure intercultural communication, it is necessary that participants in communication proceed not from the norms and rules of behavior, traditions and customs accepted in their native culture, but from the specifics of the culture of the person with whom communication is carried out ^{[9, p. 37]}. Thus, intercultural communication acts as a kind of exchange of cultural worldviews, and therefore, for a person entering into communication, there will be many strange and incomprehensible things in another culture. By trying to adapt to the peculiarities of a particular culture, he will be able to understand the reasons for the misunderstanding between the communicants.

Network media as an important tool for information dissemination and a factor of communicative interaction in modern society attract the attention of numerous researchers. Scientists study the functionality of online media and their social impact from the points of view and approaches of various scientific disciplines ^{[10, p. 177]}.

The concept of a "networked society", outlined by Manuel Castells ^[11], describes in detail how digital network technologies are changing information flows and social structures. In his work "Culture of Convergence: Where Old and New Media Collide" ^[12], Henry Jenkins presents an in-depth analysis of how traditional and new media interact with each other in the digital age and together create new forms of cultural dynamics.

Empirical research

As part of the development of this topic, an empirical study was conducted in the form of a survey of Russian and Chinese respondents on the role of online media in Russian-Chinese cooperation. The survey involved 300 respondents from each side aged 15 and over (no age limit has been set), but most of the respondents (over half) are over 36 years old. The majority of Russian respondents (78%) have higher education, and there are more women (66%) than men (34%). Among Chinese respondents, the majority (76%) also have higher education, men (51%) and women (49%) are about equally divided.

It should be noted that the legislation of different countries defines online media in different ways - some reduce everything to the presence of classic media publications on a particular resource, others display the media attribute through the presence of the "www" attribute on the page, etc.

There are also quite a few approaches to the definition of the Internet. Nevertheless, most authors, as well as open encyclopedias, define the Internet as an international computer network. A. Sokolov concretizes this definition based on the essential functions inherent in the network. He considers the Internet as a global social and communication computer network designed to meet personal and group communication needs through the use of telecommunication technologies ^{[13, p. 153]}.

It should be emphasized that the very concept of "Internet" indicates primarily the technology of communication, while communication itself is carried out using various services, the most popular of which in the modern world are applications, platforms, etc. Due to the widespread use of such services, it seems expected that the question "How do you feel about online sources of information?" 79% of Russian respondents responded positively and only 9% negatively, while 12% of respondents indicated an indifferent attitude. The share of positive respondents from China was higher – 93%. Only 1% are negative, and 7% are neutral. It can be concluded that online media is a more widespread, familiar and convenient phenomenon in China than in Russia, and this is not accidental ^{[14, p. 28]}. Over the past 30 years, China has been actively pursuing a policy of digitalization of the country. In recent years, this trend has also begun to significantly affect the field of education, not only at all levels, but also in all, even remote and hard-to-reach territories of the country. In Russia today, there is some lag in this regard, because remote corners of the country, as well as rural and inaccessible areas, continue to be a territory that digitalization is difficult to reach. In addition, Russia does not have a sufficiently active, purposeful policy for the introduction of digital platforms on a massive scale. In this regard, the average person can easily continue to do without network communication.

At the same time, 41% of Russian respondents turn to online media to obtain information on a regular basis, 29% turn daily, 14% several times a week, 5% several times a month, 3% occasionally, and 8% of respondents replied that they do not use the Internet at all. Among Chinese respondents, this indicator is distributed as follows: 66% receive all information only on the Internet, 28% access online media daily, 3% several times a month, and 1% contact less frequently. These results confirm the thesis that the degree of digitalization in China is higher than in Russia.

The majority of Russian respondents use online sources of information and television on a daily basis (41% and 40%, respectively). Only 15% of respondents turn to print sources, while only 4% listen to radio. Among Chinese respondents, 63% prefer online sources of information, 27% prefer television, 7% prefer radio, and 3% prefer print sources.

Russian respondents consider the most important advantages of online media to be the possibility of communication in comments (33%), as well as accessibility (21%). The speed of information transfer and the availability of entertainment content were noted by 11% of respondents, 10% find interactivity attractive. Less than 10% of respondents considered personalization of content, blogs based on interests, design of online publications, and clear language to be a significant advantage. These indicators are quite close to the responses of Chinese respondents, among whom 29% and 28% noted the ease of accessibility and the possibility of communication in the comments, respectively. 18% and 17% of Chinese respondents like the speed of information transfer and interactivity. In general, it can be noted that when evaluating user content, respondents in both countries have approximately the same approach.

The disadvantages of online media include the risk of personal information leakage (28%), the need to have a digital storage medium (26%), the lack of a specific atmosphere that is present when reading print media (18%), insults on the web (15%), and a sense of vulnerability (8%). Chinese respondents also noted the risk of personal information leakage (40%) and a sense of vulnerability (30%) as the main disadvantages.

It should be noted that the problem of leakage of personal information through online media is really quite urgent for Russia. P.S. Shvyryaev notes in his research that global research in this area places medical and business institutions at risk. In particular, data leaks of such large banking operators as Sber, Alfa-Bank, Sovcombank, Vimpelcom, as well as in the state digital environment were revealed ^{[15, p. 232]}. The main danger of data leakage is their further use by fraudsters and various criminal groups. The phenomenon of fraud involving the use of personal data is widespread in the modern world ^{[16, p. 180]}. At the same time, these crimes are not very successful in solving due to the fact that it is quite difficult to determine the digital footprint.

In China, the issue of personal data security has been approached by improving legislation in this area. So, in 2021, the new "Law on the Protection of Personal Information of the People's Republic of China" (Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China) was adopted, which significantly strengthened the protection of information about citizens, clearly outlined the scope of application, and banned the illegal processing of personal data, including an outright ban for their illegal sale and purchase or processing that harms national security and public interests ^{[17, p. 208]}. Such close attention to this issue on the part of the state is intended to strengthen measures to ensure the safety of citizens, including financial security.

When asked about the role of online media in international cooperation, Russian respondents noted, first of all, the opportunity for people from different countries to better learn each other's traditions and culture (29%), the opportunity to learn foreign languages remotely (25%), broaden the horizons of citizens (16%), and increase trust and understanding between peoples (15%), a source of reliable information about the country among a foreign audience (14%). At the same time, only 1% of respondents chose the option of using "soft power" from one state to another. Such a low indicator may indicate that the phenomenon of "soft power" is poorly understood and comprehended by ordinary people. Chinese respondents also noted the high importance of the opportunity for people from different countries to get to know each other's culture and traditions better, 42% of respondents chose this answer. The ability to learn foreign languages remotely was noted by 18% of respondents, the provision of reliable information to a foreign audience was highlighted by 15% of respondents, and the impact of "soft power" was noted by 13% of respondents (which is noteworthy and suggests that this phenomenon is more widely known among ordinary people in China than in Russia). Less than 10% of respondents considered it important to broaden the horizons of citizens and strengthen trust and understanding between peoples in international cooperation.

Respondents from both countries were also asked to evaluate the online media of Russia and China using the example of specific popular media resources.

CRI Online, the website of China International Radio in Russian, was chosen for Russian respondents. Live and recorded content is available on this website. Most of the information is related to Chinese culture, history, lifestyle, and there is a separate section on learning Chinese.

When asked to give an overall rating to a network resource on a ten-point scale, Russian respondents gave 10 points (36%), 9 points (29%), 7 points (18%) and lower scores (less than 10%). At the same time, the majority of CRI users use the resource to view news about events in China (28%) and to learn the language (27%), 13% of the votes received answers about searching for information for travel, studying peculiarities and customs, and getting information about current cultural events in the country. Users prefer the news section (25%), entertainment events (22%), and news with videos (17%) the most. 96% of respondents noted the benefits of a network resource in a deeper understanding of the culture and mentality of the Chinese people, 85% trust this source, while only 12% are distrustful.

Chinese respondents were asked to rate the Rossiya Segodnya media resource. 75% of respondents gave a score of 10 points, 21% of respondents gave a score from 7 to 9 points, and 3.4% gave a score of 5 points. Chinese respondents cited reliable news about events in the country (28%), information about current cultural events (28%), and peculiarities of traditions and customs (21%) as the main motive for accessing the resource. Only 14% of respondents receive information about travel on this resource, and only 5% use it to learn the language. 93% of respondents believe that this media resource helps them to learn more about Russian culture and mentality. 89% of them trust the published information. When choosing the most attractive content for them on the Rossiya Segodnya media resource, respondents noted entertainment content (25%), news with video materials (23%), news (22%) and blogs of public figures (20%). Thus, a fairly large percentage of respondents are interested in entertainment content that is more related to the culture of another country.

Both groups of respondents were asked whether they visit the integrated mobile media platform "Russia-China: The Main Thing", created jointly by China International Radio and Russia Today. Among Chinese respondents, 66% answered "yes" and 34% answered "no." 70% of Russian respondents visit and 30% do not visit this resource. Thus, there is an approximately equal number of users on both sides.

Conclusions

Respondents from both countries are equally interested in studying culture and mentality. Both study groups expressed a desire to keep abreast of the latest political developments in the neighboring country and a certain interest in cooperation. At the same time, it can be noted that online media in China has become somewhat more widespread than in Russia. This trend may be related to the Chinese government's deliberate policy towards the digitalization of society, as well as the education system. The high response of the respondents to the question that online media is a source of information about the cultural and political situation in the country of interest is significant. An important factor in this case is the possibility of overcoming the language barrier not only through the development of modern methods of automatic translation of viewed pages, but also by conducting targeted publications in a foreign language. At the same time, the widespread introduction of artificial intelligence algorithms into online media is gradually making content accessible to people from all over the world, adapting it to the right language and intuitive interface.