«Could England and China Form an Alliance?»: Li Hongzhang's Diplomatic Mission in the Coverage of the Newspaper «Moskovskie Vedomosti»

The article is devoted to a study of Li Hongzhang’s diplomatic mission to England in 1896 and to the coverage of this event in the Russian newspaper «Moskovskie Vedomosti». The aim of the work is to identify and analyze how the newspaper described the event, thereby shaping perceptions of China and its relations with the European powers from a Russian perspective. The subject of the study is Li Hongzhang as a representative of the Chinese elite, whose activity in foreign policy and reformist stance had a significant impact on international relations and domestic transformations in China. Special attention is paid to his image in «Moskovskie Vedomosti» – interpretations of his diplomatic objectives, assessments of the mission’s influence on the balance of power in East Asia, and the ways these narratives constructed the character of relations with the European powers from a Russian vantage point. The main method of this research is content analysis of articles and editorial materials in «Moskovskie Vedomosti» published during 1896, supplemented by historical analysis to contextualize the coverage of the mission within Russo-Chinese relations. The study’s results show that the newspaper presented a multifaceted view of the mission, describing both potential benefits and the risks associated with China’s rapprochement with the West. A pattern was identified in the coverage reflecting a combination of Chinese cautious optimism and wariness regarding Anglo-Chinese cooperation. The findings improve understanding of late-XIXth-century Russian foreign policy, perceptions of China, and the formation of public opinion on international affairs. The conclusions can be used in contemporary research on Russo-Chinese relations, comparative analyses of diplomatic strategies, and courses on the history of international communications. The material includes political notes and headlines that make it possible to reconstruct the media reaction to issues of security, trade interests, and the geopolitical calculations of states in this historical period. The source allows tracing the informational strategy of newspaper publicism and serves as a basis for further interdisciplinary research in the history of diplomacy and journalism.

England, foreign policy, diplomatic mission, journalism, China, Li Hongzhang, international relations, Moskovskie Vedomosti, periodical press, Russian Empire