This paper explores media representations of thematic foci across the headlines of the People’s Daily. Based on the application of van Dijk’s (1980) macro-rule of ‘generalisation’ and van Leeuwen’s (2008) socio-semantic inventory of social-actor representation, namely the categories of ‘inclusion’ and ‘exclusion’, the findings largely revealed the agency of the Chinese social actors associated with the authorities in keeping the COVID-19 pandemic under control through science. The focus was also on foreign countries’ perceptions of how China managed the public health crisis. These countries could be divided into friendly nations that praised China’s perseverance in maintaining control over the COVID-19 situation, and hostile states like the US and its Western allies that sought to discredit China’s efforts. China was portrayed as an economic saviour for other countries due to the immense business opportunities that its large number of outbound tourists may contribute to their post-pandemic economic recovery. However, there were no news reports that documented how the Chinese authorities intended to address the challenges faced by their country’s economy, intensifying the concern that a “Peak China” may ultimately materialise.

content analysis, COVID-19, critical discourse analysis, economic saviour, headlines, media representation, “Peak China”, great power politics, national interests, the People’s Daily

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