Abstract

This paper examines the representations of China in Chilean cartoons during the critical period of the Cold War, from the Sino-Soviet tensions in the late 1950s to the strategic rapprochement between China and the United States (1972), through four Chilean media outlets with diverse ideological orientations: Topaze, El Siglo, El Mercurio and Diario Ilustrado. The cartoons published in these newspapers are approached from two axes: the characterization of one of the most important actors in the Cold War and its role in the international system. The first one deals with analyzing how the People's Republic of China was portrayed in order to characterize the main symbols, references and topics used. The second one investigates the role assigned to it in the international context and its impact on national and regional politics. It is noted that, along with the predictable alignment of the media with the warring sides and the concerns of the Cold War, there was a properly Chilean interpretation that, however, reproduced an orientalist and anti-communist vision, as was common at that time.