De-Westernising China's Global Image: A Discourse Analysis of Muslim Intellectual Elite Narratives on the Belt and Road Initiative.

This study examines how China's global image is constructed in Muslim intellectual elite discourse, with reference to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Addressing the Western-centric bias in existing research, the study adopts a qualitative discourse-analytical approach, integrating thematic analy...

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Publicado en:Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 1457 - 1490
Autores principales: Habibullah, Manickam, Gobinathan, Leoncio, Ireene
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Universiti Putra Malaysia Jun2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jun2026
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        atl: De-Westernising China's Global Image: A Discourse Analysis of Muslim Intellectual Elite Narratives on the Belt and Road Initiative.
      aug:
        au:
          Habibullah
          Manickam, Gobinathan
          Leoncio, Ireene
        affil:
          School of Marketing and Management (Media and Communication), Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Jalan Teknologi 5, Taman Teknologi Malaysia, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
          School of Marketing and Management, Varna University of Management, Varna CenterOdesos, ul. "Oborishte" 13A, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
      su:
        Belt & Road Initiative
        Discourse analysis
        Geopolitics
        Westernization
        Development economics
        Muslims
        China
      sug:
        subj:
          China
          Belt & Road Initiative
          Discourse analysis
          Geopolitics
          Westernization
          Development economics
          Muslims
      keyword:
        Belt and Road Initiative
        China image
        economic diplomacy
        elite discourse
        framing
        soft power
      ab: This study examines how China's global image is constructed in Muslim intellectual elite discourse, with reference to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Addressing the Western-centric bias in existing research, the study adopts a qualitative discourse-analytical approach, integrating thematic analysis, framing analysis, and elements of critical discourse analysis. Drawing on a corpus of elite-authored texts (2015-2020), the findings identify five key thematic frames: economic prosperity, geostrategic interdependence, Sino-U.S. policy comparison, political stability, and regional security concerns, organised through two dominant discursive logics: economic pragmatism and moderated geopolitical framing. The analysis shows that China is primarily constructed as a development-oriented partner, with economic utility serving as the principal evaluative lens, while geopolitical concerns remain secondary and contextually negotiated. The study contributes to the literature by clarifying the distinction between perception, image, and discourse, advancing de-Westernised perspectives in global communication research within a discourse-analytical framework and a constructivist understanding of national image formation. Although limited to English-language elite texts, the findings provide important insights into context-specific constructions of China's image in the Muslim world.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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          year: 2026
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