The International Media Image of the China-Europe Railway Express: A Corpus-Based Analysis

Abstract

The China-Europe Railway Express, also known as the China-Europe Freight Train, is a flagship initiative of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since its inception in 2011, it has linked over 200 cities in China and Europe, establishing itself as a critical logistics channel. This study employs quantitative and qualitative analyses to examine seven years of news reports from China Daily, the Middle East News Agency (MENA), and PR Newswire. Using the LexisNexis news database and AntConc software, the study explores high-frequency keywords, collocations, and clusters within the corpus to identify reporting trends and biases. The findings reveal that Chinese media coverage significantly exceeds that of international outlets, which frequently contextualize the railway within the broader BRI framework, indicating limited global familiarity. Moreover, Chinese media focus on the railway’s economic benefits, whereas foreign outlets highlight specific hub cities and development projects.The study recommends that Chinese media adopt a more targeted approach, emphasizing individual routes, specific cargo types, and localized benefits to enhance global understanding and support for both the BRI and the China-Europe Railway Express.