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Media Representation of National Strategy: A Framing Analysis of China Daily’s Coverage of the Digital Silk Road

Author(s)

Yiran He

Affiliation(s)

School of International Journalism and Communication, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China

Abstract

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its digital counterpart, the Digital Silk Road (DSR), has been frequently mentioned in media coverage of China’s overseas digital development. Meanwhile, digital governance has become a much-discussed issue worldwide. As a result, how the DSR is framed in media reports matters more than ever before for global audiences’ understanding of China’s engagement in digital governance. This study, therefore, aims to explore the framing of the Digital Silk Road in China Daily. Articles published from April 2019 to July 20 25 in China Daily were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively through content analysis and semantic network analysis. Results show an overall upward trend in media coverage over the past six years. The media depiction of the DSR, however, remains relatively stable. Specifically, keywords and frames related to international cooperation, economic development, and digital technology dominate the discourse. Key concepts that compose the semantic net, such as development, cooperation, technology, and global, mostly locate in the central and most salient regions of the map and cluster around topics of connectivity, mutual development, and involvement in global digital governance. Overall, China Daily frames the DSR more as a development project than a geostrategic initiative. China, correspondingly, assumes the role of a participant and builder of digital global governance.

Keywords

Digital Silk Road; Framing Analysis; Semantic Network; China Daily; National Image; Strategic Communication

References

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