The Image of Russia in the Discourse of Chinese Social Networks: A Linguopragmatic Analysis of the Russia–Ukraine Conflict Representation

Abstract

This article dwells on a discourse analysis of the representation of the Russia–Ukraine conflict in non-institutional Chinese media. The study focuses on the identification of linguopragmatic features of the formation of Russia’s image in the discourse of Chinese social media (Weibo and Zhihu platforms). Using the methods of corpus linguistics, 207 social media posts and comments totalling 204,798 characters were analysed, with the sampling period from 24 February 2022 to May 2024. The research consisted of two stages: 1) quantitative analysis of keywords and their collocations as well as their thematic segmentation; 2) qualitative content analysis of social media posts. The first stage revealed the main features and thematic dominants of the formation of public opinion about the special military operation and Russia’s image in Chinese social networks. At the second stage, the data obtained were refined, showing in more detail the key characteristics of the representation of Russia’s image. The results of the analysis demonstrate that among the main thematic groups of keywords, the largest were Military Sphere and Politics, which reflects the emphasis on both military and humanitarian consequences of the conflict, as well as Russia’s represenation as a important global actor. At the same time, the main conclusion of the study is that the image of Russia formed in Chinese social networks in the context of the Russia–Ukraine conflict is predominantly negative, which signifies an emerging critical approach to Russia’s foreign policy, despite China’s officially neutral position.