Modern Social Science Research

The construction of China’s national image in external discourse on the “dual-carbon” goals represents a strategic practice through which China actively participates in global climate governance and enhances its international discursive power. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study examines 114 news reports on China’s “dual-carbon” goals published by major external communication media between September 2020 and September 2025. Through corpus-based quantitative analysis using AntConc and qualitative textual interpretation, the study explores the linguistic patterns and discursive strategies shaping China’s image from three dimensions: word frequency features, collocation networks, and quotation structures. The findings reveal that China’s external discourse systematically constructs a multifaceted national image as a global responsibility bearer, innovation leader, and international collaborator. These discursive strategies not only convey China’s institutional confidence and technological strength in global climate governance but also highlight its proactive and cooperative stance in contributing to a sustainable future.

Critical discourse analysis; Dual-carbon goals; External discourse; National image construction