A frame analysis of political-media discourse on the Belt and Road Initiative: evidence from China, Australia, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Abstract

The article seeks to unpack the increasingly polarised discussion on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and provide a holistic understanding of it by identifying the diverging interpretations in the form of frames and analysing the competing framing practices of actors figuring prominently in the debate. To that end, this study leverages conceptual insights from cultural framing and content-analyses a purpose-built corpus of political and media communications on the BRI gathered from China, India, the US, Japan, the UK and Australia. It first identifies, reconstructs and juxtaposes 14 culturally-embedded frames along five dimensions: China’s intensions (Ploy, Zero-sum game, Equality), the BRI’s implications for other countries (Bane, Lopsided, Boon), compliance with high standards (Below par, Qualified yes, Up to par), outcomes (Bumpy ride, Catchall, Off with a bang), and linkage to the past (Old wine in new bottles, Historical legacy). A subsequent deductive analysis, along the lines of the 14 frames, sheds light on the core claims constituting China’s discursive legitimation of the BRI, the salient difference between Chinese officials and foreign political-media elites, the continuity or change in the position on the BRI taken by foreign governments and their justifications, and the increasing critical coverage by foreign elite media.