The Communication Landscape of China’s Environmental Issues on International Social Media

ZHANG Nan; PENG Hailong; XU Chenyi

doi:10.19979/j.cnki.issn10082689.2025020062

Volume 41 Issue 4

May 2025

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Article Navigation > Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing ( Social Sciences Edition) > 2025 > 41(4): 98-108

ZHANG Nan, PENG Hailong, XU Chenyi. The Communication Landscape of China’s Environmental Issues on International Social Media[J]. Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing ( Social Sciences Edition), 2025, 41(4): 98-108. doi: 10.19979/j.cnki.issn10082689.2025020062

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ZHANG Nan, PENG Hailong, XU Chenyi. The Communication Landscape of China’s Environmental Issues on International Social Media[J]. Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing ( Social Sciences Edition), 2025, 41(4): 98-108. doi: 10.19979/j.cnki.issn10082689.2025020062

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The Communication Landscape of China’s Environmental Issues on International Social Media-A Topic and Sentiment Analysis Based on Twitter

doi: 10.19979/j.cnki.issn10082689.2025020062

School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China

Received Date: 2025-02-24
Publish Date: 2025-05-23

Abstract

Abstract

The presentation and construction of China’s environmental issues in the international public opinion arena reflect the dynamics of discursive power and shape China’s national image. Understanding the current status of China’s environmental issues on international social media can provide empirical suggestions for telling China’s environmental story to the world and shaping China’s environmental image in the era of social media. Based on discussions about China’s environmental issues on Twitter, this study analyzes 112 922 tweets posted between 2013 and 2022 using topic analysis, sentiment analysis, and co-word analysis. The results show that international public opinion tends to focus on “low-political” issues such as climate change, air pollution, energy problems and water pollution, while environmental issues are often brought into a conflicting “politicized” framework, reflecting the bias of others in the construction of discourse in the international public sphere. The sentiment analysis suggests that since 2016, international public sentiment toward China’s environmental issues has shown an upward trend in positivity. Meanwhile, the results indicate that a co-occurrence network of the BRICS countries dominated by China, India, Brazil, and Russia, and the G7 countries dominated by the US, Germany, UK, Australia, and Japan is formed on Twitter. This network reflects the discursive confrontation between BRICS countries and traditional economic powers, as well as the reconstruction and transformation of the global communication order.
- environmental issue,
- social media,
- topic analysis,
- sentiment analysis,
- co-word analysis

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