Critical Discourse Analysis on China’s Image in Climate Coverage by Mainstream US Media

Abstract

In the trend of information globalization, mass media is not only an authoritative source of information but also a participant and executor of international affairs. News reporting is the most influential and authoritative form of media, shaping people’s cognition and attitudes while conveying information. Therefore, using news reports to build a national image has become an essential strategy for the government of a country. At the same time, an excellent national image is essential for improving a country’s global discourse power. Therefore, this paper uses discourse-historical analysis as a theoretical framework to analyze the China-related climate reports of mainstream media in the United States from 2015 to 2023 and explores the diachronic changes and reasons for the image of China in mainstream media reports in the United States. In this study, a combined approach of quantitative and qualitative methods is employed, with a particular emphasis on data-driven corpus research methods. The study found that mainstream US media’s climate reporting on China mainly focuses on China’s climate responsibility, renewable energy, and inter-country relations in climate governance. Through the analysis of the predication strategy, argumentation strategy, and intensification strategy, it is found that the media’s stance has gone through a period of neutrality from 2015 to 2017, increased hostile rhetoric from 2018 to 2019, and continued to worsen from 2020 to 2023. The media’s stance is mainly related to the changes in climate policies in the United States at different phases.