News Media Framing of Nuclear Power in China From 2004 to 2013

China has vigorously developed nuclear power in the past several years whereas the nuclear power expansion has met with considerable objections, principally due to low widespread public support. News media frames can influence public perception. We conducted content analysis of articles related to nuclear power in the People’s Daily from 2004 to 2013. Analysis results showed that articles in the newspaper mainly reflected pro-nuclear or balanced arguments whereas little anti-nuclear opinion was published. Pro-nuclear arguments most often presented environmental benefits and stakeholder support, and informational text primarily reflected nuclear power information, nuclear technology, and regulatory processes. The results of content analysis of the newspaper are highly consistent with the Chinese government’s pro-nuclear decision.