International Dissemination of the Core Concepts of Diplomatic Discourse of Contemporary China: Status Quo, Problems and Strategies
Hu Kaibao1, Zhang Chenxia2
1.Institute of Corpus Studies and Applications, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China 2.School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Abstract This article investigates the tendencies and features exhibited in the international dissemination of the core concepts of diplomatic discourse of contemporary China by using corpus methodology, including “Chinese dream”, “the Belt and Road Initiative” and “community with a shared future”, and discusses the status quo, existing problems and strategies of the international dissemination of these core concepts. The research reveals that these concepts have drawn attention from mainstream media in Britain, U.S.A. and India to varying degrees. Among them, “the Belt and Road Initiative” is the most popular, and “Chinese dream” is next. On the whole, the mainstream media in Britain, U.S.A. and India hold neutral attitudes towards contemporary Chinese diplomatic thoughts or ideas expressed by these concepts, but there are also negative attitudes. Some media misunderstand and even misinterpret the connotations of these concepts. It should be noted that these tendencies and features might be explained by the lack of consistency in translating these core concepts, the lack of diversification in communication subject, and the monotony in communication form and approach, in addition to the huge differences in social systems and mainstream ideologies between China and the above-mentioned countries. In recent years, a great number of new concepts and new terms have appeared in the diplomatic discourse of contemporary China. These concepts have been translated into different languages, which have facilitated the international dissemination of these concepts. However, the translations of some core concepts tend to be changeable, which leads to the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the connotations of these concepts by governments or people in other countries. In addition, the international dissemination of the core concepts has been conducted by the government for a long time, which not only leads to a limited dissemination coverage of these concepts, but also makes it less likely to be accepted by ordinary people abroad. Moreover, the international dissemination of the core concepts has been heavily reliant on the use of written text instead of other communication forms, such as video, picture or conference. Political discourse and journalistic discourse have been used as the primary communication approaches, but academic discourse or folk discourse has seldom been used. Due to these factors, there is much room for improvement in communication breadth and depth for the international dissemination of these core concepts. Therefore, we are required to adopt the strategies of flexible communication, multiagent communication and multimode communication to promote the effective dissemination of these core concepts. First of all, we are supposed to uncover and explain the universal values and cosmopolitan significance embodied by these core concepts, so as to make them culturally closer to foreign audiences, and arouse their emotional identification with these concepts and the ideas conveyed by them. We may also disseminate the core concepts and the values and diplomatic ideas or thoughts conveyed by telling stories or narrating typical cases. Secondly, we are required to give play to the roles of different communication subjects in the international dissemination of the concepts, such as the government, citizens, multinational enterprises, social organizations and other non-government organizations according to communication purposes and audiences. As a matter of fact, it is because we have given full play to the roles of different communication subjects that the international dissemination of the concept “the Belt and Road Initiative” has proven to be effective. Finally, different communication forms and approaches should be used in disseminating the core concepts of diplomatic discourse of contemporary China. We should not only attach importance to the use of written texts as a kind of symbolic communication form, but also give full play to the roles of multimodal form, another kind of symbolic communication form, and substantial communication form as well. Moreover, we are required to make combined use of a variety of approaches, including political discourse, journalistic discourse, academic discourse and folk discourse, and take advantage of the strengths of different approaches.
Hu Kaibao,Zhang Chenxia. International Dissemination of the Core Concepts of Diplomatic Discourse of Contemporary China: Status Quo, Problems and Strategies[J]. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2021, 51(5): 99-109.
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2021, Vol. 51 
