Discourse Construction of Chinese Modernization from the Perspective of Malaysian Media

The concept of modernization, traditionally dominated by Western paradigms, has shifted with the emergence of Chinese modernization highlighted at the 20th National Congress of the CPC (October 16, 2022). Framed as a socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics, it has drawn international attention, prompting debates about its sustainability and universality. In globalization, news media shape national images, and coverage of Chinese modernization reflects perceptions within particular cultural-political contexts. Amid the 50th anniversary of China–Malaysia diplomatic ties and Malaysia’s centrality in the Belt and Road Initiative, examining Malaysian media’s discourse on Chinese modernization is timely to address potential misunderstanding, prejudice, and stigmatization. This study employs corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis to analyze 192 Malaysian media reports, aiming to understand how discourse is constructed, to promote cross-cultural understanding, and to inform the building of an international discourse system around Chinese modernization.

The review situates Chinese modernization against the history of Western modernization (Parsons, 1953) and highlights the distinctiveness of China’s path (Apter, 1965; Gasan, 2022; Rozman, 1989). Scholarship on political discourse, nation image, framing, and narrative construction (Van Dijk, 1993; Entman, 1993; Goffman, 1974; Saunders, 2013) informs how media construct perceptions of national development. Within Malaysia, deep economic and cultural ties with China shape media narratives, intersecting with soft power and public diplomacy dynamics. Methodologically, corpus-based CDA is emphasized for revealing linguistic strategies and news values in media discourse (Qian, 2010; Yang and Wu, 2012; Liu and Han, 2016; Bednarek et al., 2021; Potts et al., 2015; Zhang and Cheung, 2022). The review identifies a gap: limited comprehensive research on how foreign (specifically Malaysian) media construct and communicate Chinese modernization, motivating this study’s corpus-assisted CDA approach to enrich cross-cultural media research.

The study adopts corpus critical discourse analysis combining quantitative corpus methods with qualitative CDA to enhance representativeness and objectivity. Research questions: RQ1: What discourse strategies have Malaysian media employed on Chinese modernization? RQ2: What are Malaysian media’s attitudes toward China’s modernization? RQ3: How is the discourse system of Chinese modernization constructed in Malaysian media? Step 1: Research contextualization defined Chinese modernization as a salient international topic, especially for Malaysia, and established the above RQs. Step 2: Data collection and sample selection. 192 reports (138,647 words) from 14 Malaysian media outlets (The Star, New Straits Times, Malay Mail, The Sun Daily, Sinchew Daily, China Press, Nanyang Siang Pau, Oriental Daily, Malay.people, Sabah Media, RayHaber, Cision PR Newswire, Sicopro, KXG Alloy) spanning 10/16/2022–10/16/2023. Reports were in Chinese, English, and Malay; Google and DeepL were used to translate Chinese and Malay texts into English for consistency. Non-textual elements were removed and an English corpus compiled. Sentiment was manually categorized (positive, neutral, negative) using explicit criteria: positive (favorable portrayals emphasizing successes, cooperation, growth, technology, diplomacy), neutral (objective/factual with no clear evaluative tilt), negative (critiques emphasizing sustainability, rights, tensions, challenges). Step 3: Keyword analysis. A comprehensive word list and co-occurrence/collocation patterns were generated using AntConc 4.2.4, comparing the target corpus to the British National Corpus (BNC) as reference to obtain keyword criticality, frequencies, and salience. Step 4: Qualitative analysis. Guided by Fairclough’s CDA model, the study examined language choices, syntax, metaphors, and narrative strategies to reveal how Malaysian media define, evaluate, and construct narratives around Chinese modernization.

- Coverage dynamics: Two peaks in Malaysian coverage—October 2022 (coinciding with the 20th CPC National Congress) and March–April 2023 (Sino-Malaysian meetings, Boao Forum, and the “Chinese Modernization and the World” forum)—indicating high sensitivity to key political/diplomatic events. - Corpus composition: 192 articles; 138,647 words; major contributors included Nanyang Siang Pau (45 items; 43,828 words), China Press (43; 29,952), The Star (32; 17,980), Sinchew Daily (25; 15,955). - High-frequency terms (selected from top 100): China (2,745), Chinese (1,116), development (983), Xi (669), modernization (660), countries (649), world (646), cooperation (483), Malaysia (345), relations (315), Party (249), CPC (214), future (213), economy (212), community (187), Asia (180), peace (172). These reflect a multidimensional focus on politics, economy, cooperation, and international relations. - Keyword salience (top items): China, Chinese, Xi, modernization, Jinping, development, cooperation, Malaysia, countries, Taiwan, CPC, promote, Beijing, world, global, Belt, relations, Qin, rejuvenation, Asia, etc., highlighting governance, development, regional ties, security, and global initiatives (e.g., Belt and Road). - KWIC insights: Reports frame Chinese modernization as: a new model for human progress that challenges “modernization = Westernization”; grounded in CPC leadership and popular participation; focused on common prosperity, high-quality development, TFP growth, and international cooperation (e.g., EU, Malaysia, Ethiopia); integrating Chinese characteristics and scientific connotations. - Sentiment distribution (N=192): Positive 83.9% (161 articles), Neutral 10.9% (21), Negative 5.2% (10). Malay-language pieces were few but positive; China Press (40 positive) and Nanyang Siang Pau (43 positive) showed the most affirmative coverage; The Star had the most negative items (6). Examples of negative/critical topics included China’s economic slowdown and nuclear arsenal expansion. - Thematic focus: Economic development and cooperation dominate, alongside political, social, cultural dimensions; narratives emphasize shared opportunities, regional integration, and China–Malaysia strategic alignment.

Findings address RQ1–RQ3 as follows. RQ1: Malaysian media employ diverse discourse strategies—affirmative narratives with metaphors (e.g., “new journey,” “vision that bears global influence”), neutral fact-based reporting, and occasional critical frames shaped by geopolitical dynamics and Western media narratives. RQ2: Attitudes are predominantly positive or neutral, recognizing benefits for regional collaboration and China–Malaysia ties; a smaller set of negative reports reflects political divergences, misinformation, or imported frames of skepticism. RQ3: The discourse system is multifaceted, spanning economic, political, social, military, and cultural themes, constructed through varied narrative strategies from affirming to neutral to critical, enabling a rich, multi-dimensional representation. Broadly, the discourse patterns align with China’s soft power and public diplomacy effects in ASEAN while also revealing the influence of competing Western and Chinese narratives. Media ownership, editorial stances, and Malaysia’s multicultural context shape the heterogeneity of portrayals, mirroring Malaysia’s pragmatic, non-aligned foreign policy and underscoring media’s pivotal role in international perception-building.

The study demonstrates that Malaysian media largely construct Chinese modernization through positive and neutral narratives, foregrounding its uniqueness, effectiveness, and global relevance while allowing space for objective and occasional critical views. Contributions include: (1) offering an empirical, corpus-assisted CDA of 192 reports across languages to map discourse strategies and attitudes; (2) revealing the salience of development, cooperation, governance, and regional ties in framing Chinese modernization; (3) identifying sentiment distributions and outlet-level tendencies. Recommendations: conduct deeper linguistic/narrative analyses of Malaysian reports to diagnose misunderstandings and improve international communication; expand China–Malaysia media exchanges and co-productions to foster accurate, nuanced portrayals; develop targeted counter-stigmatization strategies and media training emphasizing China’s commitments to peace, development, and cooperation. Future research should broaden temporal and outlet coverage to enhance generalizability and track discourse evolution over time.

The analysis is limited to 192 news reports over a one-year period (10/16/2022–10/16/2023) and a selected set of Malaysian outlets. This temporal and sample constraint may affect generalizability. Expanding the dataset across longer periods, additional media, and platforms would provide a more comprehensive view of discourse dynamics.