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Shao, Y. B., Wu, X. Q., & Lyu, T. T. (2025). The Belt and Road Initiative and the Debt Trap Discourse: Evidence from Countries with Chinese Overseas Port Investments. Marine Economy, 15, 21-32. (In Chinese)
https://doi.org/10.19426/j.cnki.cn12-1424/p.20251223.001

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Framework Differences and Ideological Logic: A Comparative Study of the Belt and Road Initiative Reports on China-Africa Relations by Xinhua News Agency’s Africa Edition, BBC News Africa, and Two Other Media Outlets

  AUTHORS: Yiran Liu

  KEYWORDS: China-Africa Cooperation, The Belt and Road Initiative, English-Language Media for Africa, News Framing, Agenda-Setting

  JOURNAL NAME: Advances in Applied Sociology, Vol.16 No.5, May 15, 2026

  ABSTRACT: Africa is a key partner of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and English-language media targeting Africa shape African audiences’ perceptions of China-Africa BRI cooperation and China’s international discourse power. This study selects four representative Sino-Western English media for Africa, conducts a comparative analysis of their 2021-2025 China-Africa BRI reports via content analysis and news framing theory, and constructs a three-level analytical path of framework identification, word choice analysis and agenda-setting logic mining. The results show that Chinese media adopt win-win development and livelihood improvement frameworks with positive reporting tendencies, while Western media focus on debt trap and colonialism frameworks with negative biases. Such disparities stem from ideological differences, geopolitical competition and media positioning divergence. The study also puts forward targeted suggestions for optimizing China’s Africa-oriented communication strategies, filling the research gap in the field of Africa-oriented English media and China-Africa BRI cooperation.