Economic Spheres! Media Framing of CPEC in Pakistan

Abstract

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has gained attention from multiple viewpoints, including the sharing of information at the state level. News outlets, including print, electronic and social media, have extensively covered the CPEC from various angles and with various ideological perspectives. Qualitative and quantitative studies on the treatment of the CPEC in the print media reveal that the CPEC is framed in positive terms and the project is deemed as a game changer and solution to Pakistan’s economic problems. This research study uses qualitative methodology with the dialectical reasoning approach proposed by Fairclough. The study is aimed at critically evaluating the arguments presented in the editorials and opinion columns of the English newspaper Dawn. The study sample comprises all the editorials and opinion columns for the years 2021 and 2022. Dawn produced four editorials and three opinion columns in the two years about CPEC. Analysis of these texts reveals that the authors are challenging the dominant positive discourses on the CPEC. Government and policymakers are criticized for the lack of transparency. CPEC is now not viewed as a game changer and panacea for all problems of Pakistan. The hopes for economic prosperity are waning and the newspaper is arguing for a major shift in the discourse on CPEC. The arguments presented in the texts challenge the win-win narrative.