Redefining diplomatic discourse on the Belt and Road Initiative: A corpus-based sentiment analysis

This study examines the sentiments embedded in China's diplomatic discourse on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It aims to explore how underlying emotions are constructed through language and their role in representing these projects. The corpus for this study consists of press releases from the official website of the Chinese government, spanning from 2013 to 2023. The findings reveal that China's diplomatic discourse features a high occurrence of positive sentiments (55.13%), followed by neutral sentiments (42.63%). The study also highlights that negative sentiments are notably low at 2.23%. Further emotion analysis indicates that trust is the most frequently occurring emotion in these discourses, followed by anticipation and joy. Despite the controversies associated with the BRI and the CPEC, this study reveals that China's diplomatic discourse consistently portrays a positive image of these initiatives. It underscores the critical role of language in shaping and redefining diplomatic stances and perceptions.