The Construction of News Discourse on China's Cultural Diplomacy in Mainstream Western Media: Taking Reports on "Confucius Institutes" as an Example

Xinyi Li

doi:10.47297/wspciWSP2516-252730.20261003

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The Construction of News Discourse on China's Cultural Diplomacy in Mainstream Western Media: Taking Reports on "Confucius Institutes" as an Example

Volume 10, Issue 3

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The Construction of News Discourse on China's Cultural Diplomacy in Mainstream Western Media: Taking Reports on "Confucius Institutes" as an Example
The Construction of News Discourse on China's Cultural Diplomacy in Mainstream Western Media: Taking Reports on "Confucius Institutes" as an Example
Dongfang College, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310000, China
Vol. 10, Issue 3, Pages: 147-150(2026)
Online First：07 August 2026，

Published：30 June 2026
DOI：10.47297/wspciWSP2516-252730.20261003
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Li Xinyi.The Construction of News Discourse on China's Cultural Diplomacy in Mainstream Western Media: Taking Reports on "Confucius Institutes" as an Example[J].Creativity and Innovation,2026,10(03):147-150.
DOI：

Li Xinyi.The Construction of News Discourse on China's Cultural Diplomacy in Mainstream Western Media: Taking Reports on "Confucius Institutes" as an Example[J].Creativity and Innovation,2026,10(03):147-150. DOI： 10.47297/wspciWSP2516-252730.20261003.

摘要

Abstract

This paper examines how Western mainstream media construct the public meaning of Confucius Institutes within the broader context of China's cultural diplomacy. Taking reports from Reuters

the Associated Press

The New York Times

The Guardian

The Washington Post

and BBC News from 2016 to 2025 as its sample

the study combines content analysis with discourse analysis to explore how agenda-setting

lexical choice

and framing practices gradually reshape the image of Confucius Institutes in news discourse. The findings show that Western media coverage has increasingly shifted from cultural and educational narratives toward institutional controversy

political influence

and national security concerns. This shift is reflected not only in changes in key terms and evaluative language

but also in the close interaction between policy developments and media narratives. The paper argues that the critical image of Confucius Institutes is not produced by a single report

but gradually formed through repeated emphasis and discursive reinforcement across multiple reports. On this basis

the study further suggests that cultural diplomacy should not be understood solely in terms of institutional design or official intention

but also in relation to how it is reinterpreted and reframed within international media environments.

关键词

Keywords

references

U.S. Department of State. (August 13, 2020). Designation of the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission of the PRC.

Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. PublicAffairs.

Wu Ying. (2013). Confucius Institutes and the International Dissemination of Chinese Culture. Zhejiang University Press.

Zhang Jingjing, Xie Yutong, & Wen Qinhuan. (2021). A Review of Research on Confucius Institutes and Their Significance for Cultural Dissemination Abroad: Based on Relevant Studies from the National Social Science Fund Project. Linguistic Studies, 3(1), 137–144.

Van Dijk, T. A. (1998). Ideology: A multidisciplinary approach. Sage.

Fairclough, N. (1995). Media discourse. Edward Arnold.

Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–58.

Karp, P. (2019, July 25). Government to assess regulation of Chinese influence at universities. The Guardian.

Reuters. (2020, August 14). U.S. requires Confucius Institute center to register as foreign mission. Reuters.

Reuters. (March 5, 2021). U.S. Senate backs bill to clamp down on China-funded Confucius Institutes. Reuters.

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2023). China: With nearly all U.S. Confucius Institutes closed, some schools sought alternative language support (GAO-24-105981).