The concept of "stability" (稳定, *wen ding*) holds significant importance in China's political discourse, frequently appearing in official communications to legitimize the government's authority. This study explores how this politically charged keyword is used in a contrasting ideological context—the coverage of China by The New York Times. Existing research has demonstrated the legitimizing effects of "stability" discourse in Chinese media, but its usage in Western media remains under-examined. This research aims to fill this gap by investigating the sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral) expressed by The New York Times towards China when using the term "stability" over a 41-year period (1980-2020). It also seeks to understand the specific aspects of China's stability that the newspaper emphasizes and the underlying reasons for this portrayal, examining the relationship between the newspaper's use of "stability" and dominant ideologies within the United States. The study employs critical discourse analysis (CDA), specifically the discourse-historical approach (DHA), combined with sentiment analysis, providing a robust and efficient method for uncovering hidden meanings within news texts. The DHA method allows for examination of not just the immediate context of language but also the broader historical and sociopolitical contexts influencing the discourse.

Existing literature extensively documents the rise of China and its representation in US media, particularly within media and discourse studies. Bibliometric studies show China-related keywords consistently ranking highly in news discourse analysis. Many qualitative and mixed-methods studies have explored media portrayals of China, often revealing a generally negative tone, particularly intensifying in the latter part of the 2010s amid escalating Sino-US tensions and trade disputes. While some studies show a slightly more positive trend in the early 2010s, this was short-lived. Diachronic studies examining long-term trends are limited, with previous research focusing on specific periods or comparing different newspapers. This study addresses the need for a diachronic analysis of The New York Times' coverage of China spanning several decades, focusing on the specific keyword "stability" to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the evolving portrayal of China in the US media.

The study uses a corpus of news reports from The New York Times covering the period from 1980 to 2020. Data was gathered from the LexisNexis database using keywords such as "China," "Sino," and "Chinese." Articles were carefully screened to include only "hard news" reports, excluding opinion pieces and analyses. The data was then cleaned to remove extraneous information. The 41-year period was divided into four sub-periods (1980-1990, 1991-2000, 2001-2010, 2011-2020) based on significant developments in China and US-China relations. The use of the keyword "stability" was analyzed using AntConc 3.5.8 software. Instances of "stability" were categorized into three types: (1) "stability" in non-quotations related to China, (2) "stability" in quotations related to China, and (3) "stability" unrelated to China. Type (2) and Type (3) were excluded from the analysis. Sentiment analysis was conducted using the R package "sentiment" and the Jockers & Rinker Lexicon, which incorporates valence shifters. Collocates of "stability" were identified using AntConc's collocation function and the log-likelihood method, excluding common grammatical words. The analysis focused on the strongest adjective and noun collocates to understand how the newspaper characterizes China's stability. The final step involved co-textual analysis of sentences containing "stability" and its collocates, classifying sentences as positive, negative, or neutral based on sentiment scores and identifying thematic patterns.

The study reveals a clear shift in sentiment towards China's stability in The New York Times' reporting over time. While the 1980s showed a predominantly positive sentiment (0.09), the following periods exhibited consistently negative sentiments (-0.19, -0.06, -0.02 respectively). The frequency of "stability" mentioning increased steadily over time, mirroring the growing importance of China in global affairs. Analysis of collocates demonstrates that the term "political" consistently appeared across all periods, highlighting the keyword's strong political connotations. The key findings are summarized as follows: * **Period 1 (1980-1990):** Positive sentiment was linked to China's economic progress and contributions to regional stability. However, the Tiananmen Square incident introduced a negative aspect. * **Period 2 (1991-2000):** A largely negative sentiment emerged, focusing on social issues, human rights concerns, and the Communist Party's maintenance of power. * **Period 3 (2001-2010):** Although still negative, sentiment showed some improvement due to China's economic success and engagement with the global economy. However, political and diplomatic tensions remained a prominent negative theme. * **Period 4 (2011-2020):** While the number of positive sentences increased, the overall sentiment remained negative. This period saw a focus on sociopolitical issues like cybersecurity, COVID-19, and Hong Kong protests. The analysis of sentence examples illustrates how the newspaper uses nomination and predication strategies to shape the narrative. Positive framing frequently centers on economic aspects, while negative framing emphasizes political and social issues, often portraying China as a threat to US interests or as violating democratic ideals. The portrayal of "stability" is heavily influenced by a US-centric perspective, framing it often in opposition to democratic principles.

The findings demonstrate a clear negative bias in The New York Times' portrayal of China's stability, particularly from the 1990s onwards. This negativity is consistently tied to sociopolitical and territorial issues. The study's results corroborate previous research highlighting a generally negative portrayal of China in US media, but this study offers a deeper understanding by focusing on the specific discourse around "stability." The US-centric perspective is evident, with China's stability often evaluated based on its alignment with American values and geopolitical interests. The shift in sentiment aligns with the evolution of US-China relations, reflecting periods of cooperation and increasing competition. The persistent ideological divergence between the two nations plays a significant role in shaping the narrative. The findings underscore the importance of critically analyzing media representations of other countries, recognizing the inherent biases embedded within the discourse.

This study provides valuable insights into the discursive construction of national images in the international media. By combining CDA and sentiment analysis, it reveals the nuanced ways in which a politically loaded keyword like "stability" is used to shape perceptions of China in the US. The consistent negative framing of China's stability, especially after the 1980s, reflects the complex and evolving relationship between the US and China, driven by ideological differences and geopolitical competition. This methodology offers a time-efficient and verifiable approach to uncover hidden meanings in news discourse, highlighting its potential for future research in media studies. Future studies could explore how other keywords are employed and examine how this discourse varies across different news outlets and countries.

Despite efforts to ensure objectivity, some researcher subjectivity may have influenced the categorization of "stability" instances and the sentiment analysis of sentences. Using cross-domain lexicons for sentiment analysis might not have captured all domain-specific semantic features, limiting the identification of subtle nuances in sentiment. Future research could benefit from developing specialized lexicons tailored to news discourse for more accurate sentiment measurement.