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Are netizens social Darwinists?: Recontextualization of Chinese survival discourse in online discussions about the US-China trade war

  • Qing Liu

    Qing Liu is a lecturer in the Department of Foreign Studies, South China Agricultural University. Her research focuses on the political discourse addressing cultural dilemmas in the process of Chinese modernization. She is currently also interested in the discursive analysis of online discussions on topics such as nationalism and the urban-rural gap.

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Published/Copyright: September 9, 2022

Abstract

Survival discourse has emerged as a prominent theme in online discussions about the US–China trade war on the Chinese social media platform Zhihu. This study undertakes a critical discourse analysis of this emergent discourse by examining 80 answers (totaling 95,753 words) from Zhihu users within the broader context of the invocation of survival discourses in modern Chinese history. An intertextual method was adopted in this study, which helps us to better understand netizens’ arguments in favor of the Chinese government’s tough stance on the trade war with the US and the probable success of this strategy. The analysis reveals the historicity and intertextuality of these discourses, identifies strategies which are employed to support a tough stance on the trade war, and reflects on their implications.


Corresponding author: Qing Liu, Department of Foreign Studies, South China Agricultural University, Wushan Street No. 483, Guangzhou, 510642, P.R. China, E-mail:

About the author

Qing Liu

Qing Liu is a lecturer in the Department of Foreign Studies, South China Agricultural University. Her research focuses on the political discourse addressing cultural dilemmas in the process of Chinese modernization. She is currently also interested in the discursive analysis of online discussions on topics such as nationalism and the urban-rural gap.

  1. Research funding: This study was supported by a Guangdong Social Sciences Planning Project (No. GD21WZX01-13).

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Received: 2021-03-17
Accepted: 2022-08-25
Published Online: 2022-09-09
Published in Print: 2023-11-27

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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