This study traces discursive patterns in the representation of the Chinese Self and the European Other in China’s English-language media accounts about the EU-China Summits in 2022 and 2023. In the analysis of how the EU-China relationship and its protagonists are framed and positioned, the study’s focus lies on unraveling the linguistic underpinnings of the framing process. This way, framing theory is combined with insights from positioning theory, critical discourse analysis and language pragmatics. The analysis demonstrates how a linguistic text exploration can uncover ideological processes of Othering and appraisal of the Self. Unlike the demonization of the US Other, a dual tone about the EU-China relations reveals China’s ambiguous attitude toward the EU and shows how the relational dynamics between the three actors are played out very differently. Expressions of hopes for an enhanced collaboration with the EU feature alongside moralist directives on how the EU should move forward. Negative articulations about the EU’s lost normative power on the global scene strategically position China above the EU in the ranking order of global powers.

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