'Climate change concerns human survival...and justice in our international community': A corpus-based positive discourse analysis (PDA) of the largest developing nation's global involve/engagement discourses (re)told in interpreting

The study investigates how China’s reform and opening-up (ROU) metadiscourse—particularly international involvement and global engagement—has been mediated and (re)constructed through interpreting, using a corpus linguistics approach for systematic and objective analysis. Interpreters are viewed as sociopolitical actors shaping bilingual discourse in high-profile, outward-facing communicative events. The research addresses how interpreter-mediated discourse emphasizes themes aligned with ROU and contributes to China’s international communication and image, thereby bearing significance for translation/interpreting studies and the social sciences.

The paper situates China’s ROU as a central strand of development discourse in the Global South, highlighting the shift since 1978 toward openness, market reforms, modernization, and international integration. It reviews Positive Discourse Analysis (PDA) as a complement to CDA, focusing on progressive, empowering discourses (e.g., anti-racism, decolonization, solidarity) and calling for attention to positive/neutral articulations. Prior PDA applications have been predominantly qualitative and small-scale, with few in translation/interpreting. The Chinese context is discussed alongside scholarship on discursive power, global South narratives, and the need to valorize resistant/alternative voices beyond the West. The study positions itself within digital humanities, arguing that corpus linguistics can enhance systematicity and reduce cherry-picking in discourse analysis, thereby enabling a corpus-based PDA approach to interpreter-mediated political communication.

Design: Corpus-based Positive Discourse Analysis (PDA) combined with corpus linguistics (CL) methods in a mixed-methods digital humanities framework. Corpus: CE-PolitDisCorp (Chinese-English Political Discourses Corpus), totaling 310,924 tokens (Chinese: 170,260; English: 140,664). Data comprise 20 years of interpreter-mediated Premier-Meets-the-Press conferences (1998–2017). Focus is on Subcorpus A (premiers’ answers in Chinese) and Subcorpus B (corresponding English interpretations). Interpreters are government-affiliated, often foreign ministry civil servants; events are consecutively interpreted and broadcast live. Tools/Procedures: AntConc used for frequency lists, concordances, and collocation analysis. Wildcards (e.g., glob*, world*, international*, 全球*, 世界*, 国际*) used to retrieve lexical realizations. Analysis triangulates: (1) lexical frequency comparisons across key ROU themes (DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMY, REFORM, INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT/GLOBAL INVOLVEMENT, MARKET, STABILITY, OPENNESS, MODERNISATION, SOCIALISM, HARMONY); (2) diachronic trends across three administrations (Zhu, Wen, Li); and (3) collocational patterns (e.g., ‘international community’, ‘international practice(s)’, ‘global economy’). PDA is operationalized generically as a theoretical lens guiding interpretation of CL-derived patterns rather than imposing a priori linguistic categories. Entry points: Emphasis on items semantically related to global/international engagement; examination of interpreters’ additions or explicitations indicating institutional alignment and agency.

- Overall ROU theme amplification: Interpreters render core ROU themes more prominent in English than in Chinese over 20 years, with an overall increase of 17.75% in the production of relevant lexical items (increases across all thematic categories except one). - Global/international lexicon: Chinese contains 302 instances (全球*, 世界*, 国际*), English contains 362 instances of their counterparts (glob*, world*, international*), a 19.87% increase—suggesting stronger institutional alignment and a more internationally oriented image in English. - Diachronic trend: Chinese premiers’ discourse becomes increasingly global-minded across administrations (avg. mentions/year rise from ~8 to 16 to 20.4). Interpreters consistently heighten this trend in each administration. - glob*: Chinese 16 vs English 60 (+275%). By administration: Zhu (1 vs 1; 0%); Wen (1 vs 18; +1700%); Li (14 vs 41; +193%). Concentration and salience grow especially in the third administration. - Collocations with international*: Notable patterns include ‘international financial crisis’ (22), ‘international community’ (9), ‘international market(s)’ (8), ‘international environment’ (8), ‘international practice(s)’ (6), among others. Most are accurate reflections of STs. - ‘International community’: 9 instances in English vs 3 literal equivalents in Chinese (+200%). Only 2/9 are directly triggered by the ST (22.2%); 6/9 are indirectly triggered by generic ‘world’-related items; 1/9 added without ST trigger. Functions include bolstering legitimacy of territorial claims, emphasizing international membership/solidarity, and projecting China as a key stakeholder. - ‘International practice(s)’: 6 occurrences in English vs 4 literal equivalents in Chinese, concentrated in the Zhu and Wen administrations, used to justify conformity with international standards (e.g., internet management, investment/funding systems). Absent in the Xi–Li period, reflecting a shift from defensive justification to proactive rule-shaping. - Global economy focus: Recurring patterns include ‘global economy’ (14), ‘global economic + noun’ (9), ‘global trade’ (7), ‘economic globalisation’ (2), ‘globalised economy’ (1). Surge begins around 2008, aligning with the global financial crisis and China’s growing role as growth engine. - Globalisation mentions: Minimal in earlier periods (one mention each in 2001 and 2008), spiking to 8 mentions in 2017 during the Xi–Li period, positioning China as a vocal proponent of globalisation (amid Brexit and Trump’s election). Related co-articulations include commitment to opening-up and the indivisibility of peace, development, cooperation, and globalisation. - Image effects: Interpreters’ (over)production and explicitations help construct China as development-focused, reform-minded, modernizing, open, and increasingly engaged—progressing toward international leadership as a defender of free trade and open markets.

The findings demonstrate interpreters’ visibility and agency in shaping and amplifying China’s ROU metadiscourse in English. By overproducing key lexical items and strategically deploying collocations such as ‘international community’ and ‘international practice(s)’, interpreters align with institutional ideology and strengthen Beijing’s narratives of openness, integration, and global engagement. This discursive mediation contributes to a progressively more proactive, globally engaged, and leadership-oriented image of China over two decades. In the broader geopolitical context, interpreter-mediated discourse operates as an alternative voice from the Global South, potentially counterbalancing dominant Western narratives and influencing perceptions of East–West and North–South power relations. The corpus-based PDA approach reveals how bilingual, interpreter-mediated political communication can effect discursive change beyond the immediate event, underscoring interpreters as sociopolitical actors rather than neutral conduits.

This study pioneers a corpus-based Positive Discourse Analysis in interpreting studies to examine government interpreters’ mediation of China’s international engagement and global involvement discourses across 20 years of Premier press conferences. It shows systematic amplification of ROU-related themes and global/international lexicon in English, diachronic strengthening of globally oriented discourse, and salient collocational strategies that legitimize policies, emphasize international membership, and project proactive engagement and leadership. The work advances interdisciplinary dialogue among interpreting studies, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, and political communication, illustrating how interpreter-mediated discourse can shape international perceptions and discursive power dynamics. Future research should broaden datasets (other political events), apply layered analytical frameworks, and leverage text mining and machine learning to trace diachronic evolution of China’s discourses and interpreter mediation.

- Corpus scope: Findings are based on 20 years (1998–2017) of Premier-Meets-the-Press conferences; results may not generalize to other settings or later periods. - Temporal change: China’s development mentality and international strategies evolve; both Chinese articulations and interpreter-mediated English discourse may shift accordingly. - Event specificity: Analyses should be complemented with other discursive events (e.g., foreign ministry briefings, foreign minister remarks) for a holistic view. - Analytical framework: Further work could adopt a stratified, layered framework combining CDA and CL; explore more systematic entry points; and employ text mining/machine learning for finer-grained, diachronic insights.