This study identifies, analyzes, and compares media content produced by Russian and Chinese TV channels surrounding the events of the Fifth BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa, in 2013. The study utilizes a comparative frame analysis to deconstruct and explain media messages communicated by Russian and Chinese media representing national identities of the countries through the BRICS Summit diplomacy. The study discusses important questions in regard to the cultural, political, and economic contexts that shape the perceptions of roles and ambitions of Russia and China on the world stage. The major findings clearly demonstrate that Russian and Chinese media adopted different rhetorical frames to portray their national identities through the media coverage of the Fifth BRICS Summit. Russian media highlighted Russia’s political strength and power in the international arena, trying to reemphasize its position on the world scene in the new era. In contrast, Chinese media adopted softer and cooperative frames to represent itself as a positive collaborative force that can bring changes not only to other BRICS member states but to a larger global community. Nevertheless, in both of their media coverage attempts, Russian and Chinese media placed their countries in comparison with and even in opposition to the rest of the world, thus emphasizing national exceptionalism and dominance in their particular spheres of influence. These positions imply an interior (in the case of China) or a straightforward (in the case of Russia) approach to communicate a form of “collective resistance” to the global arena where the countries seek larger global recognition and appreciation.
