OBSERVARE
Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
VOL. 17, Nº. 1
May 2026
620
DECODING DIPLOMATIC NARRATIVES: CHINA'S POLITICAL DISCOURSE WITH
AFRICAN PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING COUNTRIES – A FOCUS ON ANGOLA
KAIYAO PENG
a22091100212@cityu.edu.mo
Doctoral candidate in International Relations at the City University of Macau (China). Her
research focuses on China’s high-level political discourse and its engagement with Portuguese-
speaking countries, examining diplomatic narrative construction and interregional cooperation in
the Lusophone world. She is co-author of A Semiotic Decoding of Political Discourse Between
China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (JANUS.NET, 2025), which develops a discourse-
semiotic framework for analysing China–Lusophone political communication. She has contributed
to multiple Macau Foundation–funded projects, including “Investing in Cultural Diversity:
Portuguese-Speaking Countries” (2023), “Research on the History of Relations between Macau
and Portuguese-Speaking Countries” (2024), and “Research on the Cross-Cultural
Communication Competence of Portuguese-Language Major Students in Macau” (2024–2025),
strengthening research on Macau’s institutional role in China–Lusophone cooperation.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8180-0867
FRANCISCO JOSÉ B. S. LEANDRO
fleandro@um.edu.mo
He received his Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the Catholic University
of Portugal in 2010. From 2014 to 2018, he served as the Program Coordinator at the Institute of
Social and Legal Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Saint Joseph in Macau, China. From
2018 to 2023, he was the Associate Dean of the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking
Countries at the City University of Macau, China. Currently, he is an Associate Professor with
Habilitation in International Relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau
(China), and Deputy Director of the Institute for Global and Public Affairs. His recent publications
include: Is China a Global Power? (2025), Palgrave Macmillan and The Palgrave Handbook on
Geopolitics of Brazil and South Atlantic (2025), Palgrave Macmillan. Francisco Leandro is a
member of Centre for International Studies - ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon and
OBSERVARE (Observatory of Foreign Relations), established in 1996 as a centre for studies on
International Relations at the Autonomous University of Lisbon, Portugal. https://orcid.org/0000-
0002-1443-5828
CÁTIA MIRIAM COSTA
Catia.Miriam.Costa@iscte-iul.pt
Assistant Researcher and Professor, and the Coordinator of the Group Global Politics and Security
at the Centre for International Studies - ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal). She
also holds a position of visiting Researcher and Professor at the University of Granada and
University of Macau and is member of the Group of Studies of Iranian People – University
Autonoma de Madrid. She is guest lecturer at the Institute of National Defence and the Director
of the Chair of Interregionalism and Global Governance at the European Institute of International
Studies (Stockholm/Salamanca). She has coordinated and participated as a researcher in several
international research projects financed by the European Commission, the Portuguese Foundation
for Science and Technology and the CYTED - Ibero-American Program of Science and Technology
for Development. She has published several scientific articles and book chapters in international
journals and printing houses. She has also published regularly in the periodical press and has
commented on Portuguese news channels. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7666-5661
JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
VOL. 17, Nº. 1
May 2026, pp. 620-649
Decoding Diplomatic Narratives: China's Political Discourse with African Portuguese-Speaking
Countries – A Focus on Angola
Kaiyao Peng, Francisco José B. S. Leandro, Cátia Miriam Costa
621
Abstract
This study contributes to a broader research project examining China’s high-level political
discourse (HLPD) with Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), with the present study focusing
specifically on the Republic of Angola. Previous analyses within the project have addressed
China’s engagements with Portugal and Brazil (Peng et al., 2025). Political discourse serves
as a strategic tool through which leaders shape public perceptions of foundational principles,
diplomatic priorities, and policy orientations - an approach that is explicitly articulated in Xi
Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. As China’s Head of State, Xi Jinping has consistently
emphasized the construction of a narrative system aimed at enhancing the country’s
international communication capacity and projecting a comprehensive national image. The
Annual Report on the Development of Cooperation between China and Other Countries (2017–
2019) documents a marked intensification of high-level exchanges between China and PSCs.
Against this setting, the present study investigates China’s HLPD in its diplomatic
engagements with Angola, representing the African PSCs within the broader project
framework. The overall research design categorizes PSCs into three regional groupings: Ibero-
American, Asian, and African. Angola is examined as a case study within the African grouping.
This study draws on official Chinese sources, primarily the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and
analyses English-language translations of high-level statements and communications. A total
of 23 high-level political communication events (HLPCEs) between China and Angola -
featuring President Xi Jinping, former Premier Li Keqiang, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi -were
examined. These events, spanning from March 2013 to October 2022, were subjected to a
discourse-semiotic analysis to decode their textual content and identify recurring narrative
elements. The findings reveal a consistent emphasis on mutual and sustainable cooperation,
particularly in the domains of trade and technology, alongside efforts to foster interpersonal
ties and joint development. The analysis also highlights a discernible trend toward the
deepening of bilateral relations between China and Angola. The study is structured as follows:
(1) Introduction; (2) Literature Review; (3) Critical Discourse Analysis; (4) Methodology; (5)
Discussion and Findings; and (6) Conclusion..
Keywords
Angola, China, Political Discourse, Semiotics, International Relations, Portuguese-speaking
Countries.
Resumo
Este estudo contribui para um projeto de investigação mais amplo que examina o discurso
político de alto nível (DPAN) entre a China e os países de língua portuguesa (PLP), sendo o
presente estudo focado especificamente na República de Angola. Análises anteriores no
âmbito do projeto abordaram o envolvimento da China com Portugal e Brasil (Peng et al.,
2025). O discurso político constitui uma ferramenta estratégica por meio da qual dirigentes
moldam percepções públicas sobre princípios fundamentais, prioridades diplomáticas e
orientações políticas - uma abordagem explicitamente articulada no Pensamento de Xi Jinping
sobre a Diplomacia. Na qualidade de Chefe de Estado, Xi Jinping tem enfatizado de forma
consistente a construção de um sistema narrativo destinado a reforçar a capacidade de
comunicação internacional do país e a projetar uma imagem nacional abrangente. O Relatório
sobre o desenvolvimento da cooperação entre a China e outros estados (2017–2019) -
documenta uma intensificação das relações bilaterais marcada das trocas de alto nível entre
a China e os PLP. Nesse contexto, o presente estudo investiga o DPAN da China nas suas
interações diplomáticas com Angola, representando o grupo africano de países de língua
portuguesa no âmbito do projeto mais amplo. O desenho geral da investigação categoriza os
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e-ISSN: 1647-7251
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Countries – A Focus on Angola
Kaiyao Peng, Francisco José B. S. Leandro, Cátia Miriam Costa
622
PLP em três agrupamentos regionais: ibero-americano, asiático e o africano. Angola é
analisada como estudo de caso dentro do agrupamento africano. Este estudo baseia-se em
fontes oficiais chinesas, principalmente do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, e analisa
traduções para a língua inglesa de declarações e comunicações de alto nível. No total, foram
examinados 23 eventos de comunicação política de alto nível (ECPAN) entre a China e Angola
- envolvendo o Presidente Xi Jinping, o ex Primeiro Ministro Li Keqiang e o Ministro dos
Negócios Estrangeiros Wang Yi. Estes eventos, decorridos entre março de 2013 e outubro de
2022, foram submetidos a uma análise discursivo semiótica para decifrar o conteúdo textual
e identificar elementos narrativos recorrentes. Os resultados revelam uma ênfase consistente
na cooperação mútua e sustentável, particularmente nos domínios do comércio e da
tecnologia, bem como esforços para promover laços interpessoais e o desenvolvimento
conjunto. A análise também evidencia uma tendência discernível para o aprofundamento das
relações bilaterais entre a China e Angola. O artigo estrutura se da seguinte forma: (1)
Introdução; (2) Revisão da Literatura; (3) Análise Crítica do Discurso; (4) Metodologia; (5)
Discussão e Resultados; e (6) Conclusão..
Palavras-chave
Angola, China, Discurso Político, Semiótica, Relações Internacionais, Países de Língua
Portuguesa.
How to cite this article
Peng, Kaiyao, Leandro, Francisco José B. S. & Costa, Cátia Miriam (2026). Decoding Diplomatic
Narratives: China's Political Discourse with African Portuguese-Speaking Countries – A Focus on
Angola. Janus.net, e-journal of international relations, VOL. 17, Nº. 1, May 2026, pp. 620-649.
https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.17.1.31
Article submitted on 27 February 2026 and accepted on 13 March 2026.
JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations
e-ISSN: 1647-7251
VOL. 17, Nº. 1
May 2026, pp. 620-649
Decoding Diplomatic Narratives: China's Political Discourse with African Portuguese-Speaking
Countries – A Focus on Angola
Kaiyao Peng, Francisco José B. S. Leandro, Cátia Miriam Costa
623
DECODING DIPLOMATIC NARRATIVES: CHINA'S POLITICAL
DISCOURSE WITH AFRICAN PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING COUNTRIES
– A FOCUS ON ANGOLA
1
,
2
KAIYAO PENG
FRANCISCO JOSÉ B. S LEANDRO
CÁTIA MIRIAM COSTA
Introduction
The economic foundations of China–Angola relations are pivotal to understanding the
broader political dynamics that underpin their bilateral engagement. Since the
acceleration of Angola’s post-war reconstruction in the early 2000s, oil-backed credit lines
extended by China’s policy banks have financed a substantial portion of the country’s
infrastructure development. This arrangement established a resource-for-infrastructure
model that strategically linked Angola’s export profile to China’s energy security needs
(Corkin, 2013). Consequently, trade - particularly in crude oil - emerged as the
centrepiece of bilateral political discourse, accompanied by narratives emphasizing
project contracting and macro-level economic cooperation.
By 2022, China accounted for over 40 percent of Angola’s total exports, underscoring the
enduring economic interdependence and the centrality of commodities in the relationship
1
Acknowledgments: This study builds on the methodological framework developed in Peng, Leandro and
Costa (2025), A semiotic decoding of political discourse between China and Portuguese-speaking countries,
JANUS.NET, e-journal of international relations, 16(1), 297–323. While retaining the original analytical design
and coding strategy, the present research applies this approach to a different national context - specifically,
the Republic of Angola - within the broader project on China’s high‑level political discourse with
Portuguese‑speaking countries. The authors acknowledge the official institutional sources that provided the
textual corpus for analysis and express their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive
feedback. They also gratefully recognise the support of the University of Macau (China) through research grant
SGR2023‑00026‑FSS, Geopolitics of Brazil and the South Atlantic, and the use of Microsoft Copilot to refine the
academic English of this manuscript, in accordance with institutional ethical standards.
2
Abbreviations: CDA — Critical Discourse Analysis; HLPCE — High-Level Political Communication Events; HLPD
— High-Level Political Discourse; HLPN — High-Level Political Narrative; HoS — Head of State; PRC — People’s
Republic of China; PSCs — Portuguese-Speaking Countries
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Kaiyao Peng, Francisco José B. S. Leandro, Cátia Miriam Costa
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(International Trade Administration, 2024). Understanding how political discourse is
shaped by these material foundations is essential for analysing China’s strategic posture
in Lusophone Africa and Angola’s reciprocal diplomatic responses. This interdependence
also informs the structure of diplomatic engagement, shaping discursive themes around
development, economic diversification, and governance reform.
Building on this foundation, high-level visits and multilateral forums have served as key
platforms for strategic signalling. During Premier Li Keqiang’s 2014 visit to Luanda,
Angola was characterized as an “important cooperative partner,” with Li noting that “both
sides are each other’s opportunity for development” - a formulation that encapsulates
official narratives of complementarity, mutual benefit, and practical cooperation (State
Council of the PRC, 2014). Similar rhetorical patterns were evident during the 2018
Beijing Summit of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), where President Xi
Jinping and President João Lourenço reaffirmed their commitment to deepening
cooperation and expanding exchanges across economic and social sectors (FOCAC, 2018;
Xinhua, 2018). These diplomatic moments positioned Angola as a central actor within
China’s Africa policy and linked it to the institutional framework of China–Portuguese-
speaking Countries cooperation, anchored in Macao - a platform established in 2003 to
facilitate trade, finance, and policy coordination with Lusophone partners (Alden, 2017).
Beyond commodity trade, China’s political discourse has increasingly incorporated
themes such as people-to-people connectivity, technology transfer, and governance
exchange. In his remarks at the 2018 FOCAC Summit, President Xi Jinping reiterated
China’s willingness to “deepen cooperation in all areas” - a phrase that, alongside
recurring expressions like “mutual benefit” and “win-win,” reflects a stable and strategic
lexicon in China’s high-level diplomatic rhetoric (FOCAC, 2018). While oil and
infrastructure remain the economic core of the relationship, both Angolan and Chinese
officials have increasingly emphasized industrialization, agricultural modernization, and
economic diversification. These themes collectively reframe development cooperation as
a long-term strategic agenda rather than a series of discrete projects (Xinhua, 2018).
Such discursive shifts are significant, as they not only legitimize existing ties but also
articulate future pathways for cooperation in terms that are intelligible to both
governmental and public audiences.
This study therefore investigates how China articulates its high-level political discourse
(HLPD) in its engagements with Angola, analysing the rhetorical strategies and thematic
patterns that structure bilateral communication. The research window is March 2013 to
October 2022, aligning with the first two terms of China’s Head of State. The corpus
consists of 23 high‑level political communication events (HLPCEs) involving the Head of
State, the Head of Government, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, drawn from official
English‑language sources and analysed using a discourse‑semiotic approach to decode
textual content and recurrent narrative elements. This Angola case is part of a broader
project on China’s HLPD with Portuguese‑speaking countries and follows the same design
and coding strategy. Section Two briefly reviews the China–Angola relationship and the
theoretical frameworks that inform the analysis. Section Three presents the semiotic
approach to interpreting HLPD and explains how the discourse is constructed within the
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Countries – A Focus on Angola
Kaiyao Peng, Francisco José B. S. Leandro, Cátia Miriam Costa
625
bilateral interaction framework. The conclusion synthesizes China and Angola’s
cooperative preferences, future development trends, and potential challenges for the
partnership.
Literature Review
The primary objective of this research is to examine how Chinese political actors
strategically integrate multiple discursive elements to construct coherent political
narratives, with particular emphasis on high-level political speeches.
Discourse extends beyond simple conversations: it represents a structured sequence of
statements and devices that form what is known as a “discourse world” or “discourse
ontology.” Through carefully chosen language and terms, discoursers create a narrative
framework in which ideas and information are organized to present a particular version
of reality, which the audience (or receiver) interprets (Chilton, 2004). Political discourses
are especially influential, as they organize and sometimes manipulate information,
events, and actions into stories: defining who did what, to whom, when, where, and why.
The elements of these stories, known as discourse referents, each serve a specific role
within their context. Political discourses thus provide the foundation for narratives that
advance particular political agendas. In other words, combining different discourses into
a storyline creates a platform for building and promoting political narratives (Jørgensen
& Phillips, 2002; Costa, 2020 a, 2023). The power of discourse lies in its capacity to
shape, steer, and influence public beliefs and perceptions of society and the world.
Political discourses leverage this capacity to transform abstract concepts into reasoning
and justifications for political actions (Chilton, 2004; Tannen et al., 2015). Such
discourses can significantly affect public behavior and decision‑making on issues such as
national identity, security, societal structures, and governance. Empirical corpus-assisted
analysis of longitudinal public texts demonstrates that sustained lexical patterning
influences national representation over time, reinforcing the analytical view that political
discourse functions as a site where meanings are structured and stabilized (Yu & Feng,
2025).
Figure 1. The Formation of Political Narratives
Types of
Political Discourses ▶
Political Narrative ▶
Audiences ▶ Perceptions
Congratulatory messages
Political speeches
Meetings
Editorials (newspapers and
magazines)
Interviews (…)
Storyline
Discourse
referents
“Good stories”
Ideologies
Power
structures
Intended to
foster
positive
public
perspectives
Simplicity
Appealing
Positive
Seeking
retribution,
Adherence and
support
General
Public
Decision-
makers
Media
Outlets
Source: Authors
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Narratives are carefully constructed assemblages of discourses, selectively organized into
coherent, logical, and persuasive stories (Livholts & Tamboukou, 2015). Language and
rhetoric are essential in shaping these narratives, weaving together events, characters,
and settings to reveal layers of meaning beyond mere facts. As Hinchman and Hinchman
(1997) and Riessman (2008) emphasize, the power of narratives lies in their ability to
“select, organize, and emphasize various discourse elements,” thereby influencing how
an audience interprets and engages with the information presented.
Building on this, political narratives are particularly influential because they consist of
logical sequences of political discourses that fit within specific contexts, often arranged
chronologically. Driven by political intentions, they deploy characters, settings, and plots
to simplify complex issues, shaping public perceptions and individual stances. Effective
political narratives combine logical structure with emotional appeal, transforming political
matters into compelling, accessible stories. By intertwining political discourses with
narratives, political actors frame their messages in ways that resonate with audiences,
generating strong effects on public opinion and decision‑making.
Understanding the dynamic interplay between what politicians intend to communicate
(the narrative) and the reality of political events requires careful narrative analysis
(Shenhav, 2006, p. 247). As Costa (2020 b, p. 27) argues, “every political or social fact
needs a story,” and a well‑constructed story can capture the audience’s attention and
provoke engagement. In the case of the Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI), narratives play
a crucial role in shaping public perception, guiding how political events and intentions are
communicated and understood, and ultimately driving responses and participation in
political discourse.
While narrative analysis focuses on structure and storytelling, discourse analysis
examines the language itself. Adding a semiotic perspective allows the analyst to explore
the signs and symbols embedded in texts, revealing deeper, layered meanings. This
combined approach is particularly effective for dissecting political narratives, as it
uncovers the strategic use of symbols in shaping messages. This analytical convergence
is also reflected in studies of strategic storytelling in government communication, which
show that symbolic framing plays a central role in cultivating legitimacy and aligning
audiences with foreign-policy agendas (Arceneaux, 2024). It clarifies how narratives are
constructed, conveyed, and interpreted, and offers insight into political communication’s
role in shaping public opinion and the broader political landscape.
For example, Sengul’s (2019) study of Australian right‑wing populism demonstrates how
linguistic choices and symbolic imagery create compelling narratives around “national
identity,” “otherness,” and “crisis.” These narratives shape public sentiment by
positioning national identity against perceived threats, thereby mobilizing support and
influencing political discourse. Similarly, El‑Nawawy and Elmasry (2016) use semiotics to
analyze the “strongman” leadership archetype, highlighting the interplay between visual
and textual symbols. In China’s high‑level political communications, symbolic terms such
as “prosperity,” “harmony,” “common destiny,” and “(consultative) democracy” are
frequently used to infuse Confucian and patriarchal ideals into political discourse. Corpus-
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based analysis of Chinese diplomatic speeches further shows that the systematic
repetition of official terminology contributes to processes of political legitimation and
audience alignment (Zhang & Tang, 2024). These words tap into cultural values and
social norms to enhance the speaker’s appeal and legitimize authority. A semiotic lens
enables the analyst to unravel these meanings, revealing the ideologies, power
structures, and cultural frameworks that drive political narratives into action.
Ultimately, semiotic discourse analysis provides a comprehensive tool for understanding
how political entities use language and symbols to shape meaning, establish authority,
and influence societies. This approach deepens comprehension of the complex role that
political rhetoric plays in shaping both the political landscape and public consciousness,
as Costa (2020 a, pp. 27–28) argues:
“Through the merge of spaces, time and channels, political discourses
became a product to be received by peers and by the public sphere in general.
Media and political communication share attention and develop different
channels of communication, which are mingled. The globalization of the
communicational flows made of international communication a much
attractive way to design international relations. Discourse became a crucial
factor for the international narrative of the countries.”
Semiotic discourse analysis has been used to examine the rhetoric of various political
figures, including former U.S. President Reagan (Lewis, 1987), former Israeli Prime
Minister Sharon (Shenhav, 2005), Russian President Putin (Bacon, 2012), and Indonesian
President Widodo (Surdiasis & Eriyanto, 2018). Empirical corpus-based critical discourse
analysis of English-language Chinese diplomatic speeches identifies recurring official
lexicon as a structuring element in narrative construction (Lu & Zhou, 2024). Despite
extensive research at the global level, political discourses and narratives in China remain
underexplored. This study seeks to address this gap by shedding light on Chinese political
communications. Specifically, the research conducts a qualitative analysis of Chinese
political discourse in relation to Angola. The selected samples consist of political
speeches, which serve as public declarations of political intent directed toward specific
audiences. As a form of political discourse, these speeches can become central to the
development of political narratives. By organizing these speech samples chronologically,
the study illustrates how a comprehensive narrative emerges, considering a broader
political context.
Critical Discourse Analysis
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) treats language as social practice that is both shaped
by and constitutive of power relations and ideological commitments. It asks how texts
position actors, authorize courses of action, and naturalize particular worldviews through
recurring linguistic choices and argumentative structures (Blommaert & Bulcaen, 2000;
Fairclough, 1992, 1995; van Dijk, 1993; van Leeuwen, 2008; Wodak & Meyer, 2001).
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This approach is appropriate for high level political discourse because leaders’ speeches,
joint statements, and official media are not simple records of events. They are carefully
designed interventions whose wording organizes expectations among domestic and
foreign audiences, and whose uptake is mediated by institutional channels that lend
authority and reach. Applications of Fairclough-inspired critical discourse analysis to state
policy and institutional genres demonstrates how modality, evaluation, and intertextual
framing operate together to articulate and legitimize governmental positions within
broader political contexts (Gulestø et al., 2025).
Building on this vantage point, the present study reads interstate communication as
patterned selections from a shared repertoire of terms and moves. In official Chinese
sources, formulations such as “mutual respect”, “win-win cooperation”, “common
development”, and “non-interference” appear as more than stylistic flourishes. They
function as signifiers that project roles for leaders and ministries, cue policy instruments,
and prompt audiences to interpret bilateral engagement through a cooperative frame. A
semiotic lens complements CDA by treating these tokens as signs with social functions
and by asking how their repetition across events builds a recognizable storyline that is
intelligible to multiple audiences (van Leeuwen, 2008). Related work has applied a
semiotic reading to Chinese political communication with Portuguese‑speaking partners,
which underscores the value of integrating discourse analysis with attention to signs and
symbols in official texts.
The Angola case requires situating discourse within a political economy that connects
oil‑anchored finance, large project contracting, and long‑term development pledges.
Scholarship on Angola’s credit lines and construction sector explains how state policy,
policy‑bank lending, and enterprise activity became entwined during the reconstruction
decade, creating institutional pathways through which official discourse about
cooperation and development is made actionable (Alves, 2013; Corkin, 2012, 2013; Wolf,
2017). This structural configuration continues to shape Angola’s fiscal and development
landscape, as International Monetary Fund (2025) analysis underscores the economy’s
ongoing exposure to oil price volatility, while World Bank (2025) assessments foreground
debt sustainability as a defining parameter of medium-term planning. These constraints
delineate the material conditions under which political language is produced and
circulated. Critical discourse analysis does not reduce texts to these conditions, yet it
treats them as the context of production within which words like cooperation, enterprises,
relations, and development can do legitimating work. This linking of textual form to
institutional setting clarifies why high-level statements often pair abstract values with
concrete vehicles such as investment promotion, enterprise participation, or specific
cooperation mechanisms.
Operationally, the analysis draws on an Angola‑specific corpus assembled from
authoritative public sources in English, including statements and readouts from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, official summit texts
associated with the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation, and reports by Xinhua that
consolidate leaders’ remarks. The corpus is organized as high-level political
communication events that involve the Head of State, the Head of Government, and the
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629
Minister of Foreign Affairs during the window from March 2013 to October 2022. This
structured repository, referred to as corpus of Chinese HLPD towards Angola, provides
the unit of analysis for the CDA‑semiotic reading in this study. As the corpus consists of
English-language institutional texts, translation and circulation are incorporated into the
analysis rather than assumed to be neutral processes of transfer (Zhao & Wang, 2025).
The procedure proceeds in two linked stages. First, it treats each event text as a
purposeful artefact and codes lexical items that anchor roles, instruments, and goals in
the discourse. Recurring tokens that function as signs are identified and grouped into
thematic nodes, with attention to co‑occurrence that indicates how tokens are bundled
into familiar policy formulas. Second, it reads across events to reconstruct the higher
order narrative that the texts assemble over time, asking how official news copy, summit
declarations, and ministerial releases circulate the same repertoire to varied audiences.
This design relies on reproducible coding of public documents and avoids any inference
about hidden motives that cannot be grounded in the texts themselves. Such staged
coding enables diachronic analysis of representational change through systematic lexical
tracking (Yu & Feng, 2025).
Two clarifications arise from the research design. The first pertains to scope: the
application of critical discourse analysis in this study is limited to examining the pragmatic
functions of language in official sources. It does not extend to inferring authorial intent
beyond what is explicitly conveyed in the texts. The second concerns sequencing:
Section 2.1 outlines the analytical framework and source base but does not present
empirical findings or interpretive trajectories. These are reserved for the subsequent
analysis. This structure ensures that interpretation remains methodologically grounded,
avoiding premature conclusions while situating the study firmly within the Angola-specific
material and the institutional channels through which that material is produced and
disseminated (FOCAC, 2018; MFA, 2014, 2015; Xinhua, 2018).
Methodology
The study is structured in three distinct phases. First, data collection was conducted
within a defined timeframe, followed by the encoding of selected texts into line codes.
Second, high-level political discourse (HLPD) was analysed using grounded theory to
identify dominant thematic patterns. Third, these HLPD codes were assembled to
construct the overarching high-level political narrative (HLPN) (Table 1). This
methodological design enables a systematic interpretation of bilateral communicative
events. Through semiotic decoding of HLPD, the study uncovers recurring narrative
structures and identifies areas of potential cooperation between China and Angola,
thereby clarifying shared strategic objectives and plausible trajectories for future
development. Such progression from coding to cross-event synthesis facilitates
diachronic reconstruction of representation through systematic textual annotation (Yu &
Feng, 2025).
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Step 1 Collecting and organizing sources of HLPN relating to High-Level
Political Communicative Events (HLPCEs)
In this section, the analytical model used to examine China’s political narratives toward
Angola is outlined (Table 1). The aim is to standardize how events are sampled,
categorized, and prepared for coding so that narrative patterns can be compared
consistently across the research window.
Step 1A: The research period is March 2013 to October 2022, aligning with the first two
terms of China’s Head of State (HoS) (Figure 3). This window is appropriate for two
reasons: first, China and Angola further consolidated their strategic partnership during
these years under the broader framework of China–Africa cooperation; second, under
Xi’s leadership, China’s external profile expanded, making it analytically relevant to
observe how China’s discourse was received among Portuguese‑speaking African
partners.
Figure 3. The Chinese HoS’s Terms in Office
First term
Second term
Third term
From March 2013
to March 2018
From April 2018
to October 2022
From November 2022
to November 2026
Source: Authors
Step 1B: The sample includes only HLPCEs featuring three core Chinese principals: HoS
President Xi Jinping, former Head of Government Li Keqiang, and Foreign Minister Wang
Yi—given their agenda‑setting roles. Political relevance guided inclusion. The final Angola
dataset contains 23 HLPCEs, capturing the breadth of high‑level interaction. Illustrative
entries include Xi’s 2015 talks with President José Eduardo dos Santos, Wang Yi’s 2018
joint press appearance with Minister of External Relations Manuel Domingos Augusto after
talks in Luanda, and a 2022 exchange between Xi Jinping and President João Lourenço.
Step 1C: Records of bilateral engagement were compiled from authoritative Chinese
websites in English, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Xinhuanet. HLPCEs were
classified as: (1) speeches and messages, (2) meetings, and (3) newspaper articles. This
typology structures the corpus and supports consistent interpretation of China–Angola
interactions across event types.
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Step 2 HLPD analysis of each HLPCE — Employing NVivo 14 for textual
analysis, and transforming content of HLPCEs into HLPD textual codes
(Table 1)
Step 2A: NVivo 14 was used for import, coding, and thematic visualization. Parent nodes
were created for each period (for example, “Period 1: March 2013–March 2018,” “Period
2: April 2018–October 2022”), with child nodes to capture finer categories such as
“Cooperation,” including sub‑themes like “Global Cooperation” and “Practical
Cooperation.” Queries for word frequency and co‑occurrence were run to surface
recurrent lexemes, thereby refining theme boundaries and ensuring interpretive depth
within the China–Angola narratives under review. NVivo-assisted coding facilitates
transparent reduction and systematic documentation of analytical decisions in qualitative
content analysis (Nicmanis, 2024).
Step 2B: Sentiment labels (positive, negative, neutral) were assigned to coded
references. This layer enriches the analysis of both parent and child themes, allowing the
study to track how tonal variation aligns with shifts in topic salience across events and
periods.
Step 2C: Matrix coding queries generated periodized outputs—Period 1 (Table 2) and
Period 2 (Table 3)—and a consolidated overview (Table 4) presented in the conclusion.
This enables a granular view of theme intensity and sentiment across the two phases of
the China–Angola discourse, highlighting change and continuity over time.
Step 3 Decoding of HLPN via Semiotics
Step 3A: Discourse analysis is integrated with semiotics at both the text and narrative
levels. Semiotic discourse analysis identifies meanings, symbols, and communicative
devices within specific statements, while semiotic narrative analysis traces how these
elements combine to form the overarching HLPN that structures China–Angola relations.
Step 3B: The final interpretive pass evaluates cooperation priorities, development
pathways, and challenges in the relationship, and it outlines plausible directions for future
engagement based on how the narrative is assembled and repeated across the corpus.
Table 1. Research Methodological Design
(China → PSC: The Case of the Republic of Angola)
Text Analysis
Themes, patterns,
meanings and
language structures
→
↘
High Level Political Discourse
Analysis (HLPD)
The social and political decoding
and relationships of the
language: Audiences, keywords,
figures of style, adaptation and
→
↗
High Level Political
Narrative (HLPN)
Identification
The assembly the analysis
of several discourses and
unveil the story they tell all
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632
impact (negative, positive or
neutral). “(…) discourse as a
particular way of talking
about and understanding the
world (or an aspect of the
world)” (Jørgensen & Phillips,
2002, p. 1).
together. Narratives
(stories) (…) are
discourses with a clear
sequential order that
connect events in a
meaningful way for a
definite audience and thus
offer insights about the
world and/or people’s
experiences of it.
(Hinchman & Hinchman, in
Elliott, 2005, p. 5)
Step 1 – Preparation:
Data Selection,
Collection,
Organization and
Sources
Step 2 –
HLPD Analysis of Each HLPCE
Step 3 –
Semiotic Decoding - The
HLPN
1A:
Setting the study
timeline.
2A: Identify the
keywords frequency in
each HLPCE, to establish
the theme correlation
with the dominant
message of the discourse.
Nvivo 14
Data
Analysis
Software
3A:
(ALL CE TOGETHER)
↧
Apply the semiotic
decoding of CE, to unveil
the HLPN, as the result of
the constructed sense of
whole HLPD.
1B:
Select all relevant High-
Level Political
Communication Events
(HLPCE) originated in
China and politically
addressed to the
Portuguese Republic: (1)
Speeches and Messages
(SM); (2) Meeting
Transcripts (MT); (3)
Newspaper Articles (NA).
2B: Decoding keywords
adapted or not and its
perceived impact in (1)
Positive; (2) Neutral; (3)
Negative.
1C:
Identify the HLPCE
official sources in
English.
2C:
Evaluate keywords in the political
context.
3B:
Identify the China’s
cooperative preference,
future development
tendency and challenges
may meet during
engagement with Portugal.
Source: Authors – Version 25.
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Discussion and Findings
This section analyses the thematic content of high-level political discourses (HLPDs)
between China and Angola during the first two terms of President Xi Jinping’s leadership
(March 2013–March 2018 and April 2018–October 2022). Across this period, notable
shifts are observable in key themes aligned with the three analytical perspectives outlined
earlier. These shifts are systematically presented in Tables 2 and 3, which illustrate the
evolving narrative structures and discursive priorities within bilateral engagements.
Between March 2013 and March 2018
Across the first term of China’s Head of State, the Angola corpus shows a tightly clustered
lexicon around four parent themes: cooperation, enterprises, relations, and development
shown in Table 2, with “cooperation” most salient (59 references; 19 positives, 40
neutral), followed by “enterprises” (42; 17 positives, 25 neutral), “development” (34; 11
positives, 23 neutral), and “relations” (21; 8 positives, 13 neutral). All four are cast in
positive or neutral tones, underscoring a consistently affirming diplomatic register. This
pattern, derived from NVivo matrix queries on 15 HLPCEs in Period 1, provides a
comparable base for interpreting shifts in emphasis across periods.
Cooperation. The discourse positions cooperation as the master frame that organizes
other motifs (enterprises, relations, development). In Johannesburg on December 4,
2015, Xi Jinping told President José Eduardo dos Santos that China–Angola ties were “at
the best level in history,” adding that both sides should “convert the consensus reached
by the two heads of state into more impetus for win‑win cooperation and common
development.” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China [MFA], 2015).
This formulation binds bilateral aims (“win‑win”) to a development telos (“common
development”), a coupling that recurs in the period’s neutral references to “China–Africa
cooperation” and “bilateral cooperation.” The prominence of this vocabulary is not purely
rhetorical: Angola was one of the largest users of resource‑backed credit during 2004–
2018, with World Bank analysis noting that Africa’s RBLs were concentrated in a handful
of borrowers and that Angola accounted for nearly half of the identified total by value,
linking cooperation discourse to large‑ticket finance for infrastructure and oil‑sector
projects (Mihalyi, Hwang, Rivetti, & Cust, 2022). Together, the corpus and the finance
evidence make cooperation the semantic hinge of Period 1: it frames goals (mutual
benefit), instruments (policy‑bank credit lines), and outcomes (development). (MFA,
2015; Mihalyi et al., 2022).
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Enterprises. Enterprise talks functions as the operational arm of the cooperation frame.
During his Luanda visit (May 9, 2014), Premier Li Keqiang explicitly linked state‑to‑state
cooperation to firm‑level action: “The Chinese government supports capable and
reputable Chinese enterprises to invest in Angola, participate in Angola’s economic and
social development and boost local employment” (The State Council of the PRC, 2014).
In the same trip he met representatives of the local Chinese business community,
reinforcing the idea that enterprises and financial institutions are the transmission belt
of policy (Xinhua, 2014). Academic work clarifies the institutional mechanics behind this
discourse: Angola’s “Angola mode” of resource‑backed credit knits together government,
policy banks, and SOEs to deliver infrastructure for oil - an architecture that naturally
surfaces “enterprises” in public statements (Corkin, 2013; Alves, 2013). Earlier sectoral
studies show how Chinese contractors’ presence created procurement channels and
selective local linkages in construction, again mapping the discursive salience of
enterprises to concrete project pipelines (Corkin, 2012). Read against Table 2, the
frequent, mostly neutral references to “Chinese enterprises” and “financial institutions
and enterprises” thus signal an implementation logic: cooperation is articulated at the
political level; enterprises make it legible on the ground. (The State Council of the PRC,
2014; Xinhua, 2014; Corkin, 2013; Alves, 2013; Corkin, 2012).
Relations. References to relations legitimize this implementation with a narrative of
strategic continuity. On arrival in Luanda (May 8, 2014), Li Keqiang called Angola “an
important cooperative partner for China” and pledged to “expand cooperation areas… and
Table 2. Analysis on China and Angola HLPN from March 2013 to March 2018
Parent
theme
Most frequently mentioned child
themes
Total
number of
references
(among 15
events)
Sentiment
Positive
Negative
Neutral
Cooperation
China-Africa cooperation; bilateral
cooperation; international cooperation;
trade cooperation; win-win cooperation.
59
19
0
40
Enterprises
Chinese enterprises; financial institutions
and enterprises; China-funded enterprises.
42
17
0
25
Relations
China-AU relations; China-Africa relations;
bilateral relations.
21
8
0
13
Development
In-depth development; development
partner; development overseas; social
development; raw materials development.
34
11
0
23
Source: Authors
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inject new impetus into the development of China–Angola relations” (MFA, 2014). The
next year Xi’s “best level in history” remark cast the relationship as both historically
elevated and forward‑looking (MFA, 2015). In semiotic terms, relations acts as the
ethos‑building layer: it stabilizes expectations (strategic partnership), widens scope (from
oil to education, health, culture), and primes audiences for pragmatic cooperation while
avoiding adversarial cues. The absence of negative sentiment in Table 2’s relations node
fits this ethos: the relational script furnishes the affective warrant for enterprise‑led
cooperation, but in a measured, low‑temperature register. (MFA, 2014, 2015).
Development. Finally, development frames the purpose and yardstick of cooperation. In
Luanda on January 14, 2018, Wang Yi pledged that China would “support Angola in
advancing the strategy of economic diversification and industrialization,” as well as
“building up its capacity for independent development” (MFA, 2018). This aligns with Xi’s
2015 emphasis on “common development,” and with scholarly accounts showing how
Chinese demand and construction activity fed domestic‑market formation in Angola (e.g.,
building materials, beverages), particularly in the post‑war reconstruction surge (Wolf,
2017). Large resource‑backed facilities channeled to infrastructure and selected energy
projects further embed development discourse into financing modalities (Mihalyi et al.,
2022). That Table 2 codes most “development” references as neutral (with a substantial
positive share) reflects a pragmatic, agenda‑setting tone: development is both the
promised dividend of cooperation and the referent that organizes diversification
narratives beyond crude. (MFA, 2018; MFA, 2015; Wolf, 2017; Mihalyi et al., 2022).
From April 2018 to October 2022
As shown in Table 3 for Period 2 and building directly on Section 5(1), the April 2018 to
October 2022 window compacts eight high‑level political communication events into six
interlinked themes: “cooperation” remained the dominant theme (18 references), closely
followed by “affairs” (13) which is a category encompassing international and internal
affairs, while “relations”, “development”, “support”, and “enterprises” appeared with
moderate frequency. Notably, the sentiment of these discourses was overwhelmingly
positive. Across the period, Chinese officials consistently struck an optimistic tone,
highlighting mutual benefit and friendship. Negative sentiments were almost absent, with
only a handful of references (under “support”) carrying a critical connotation – largely in
the context of rejecting external interference or emphasizing challenges to be overcome.
Overall, the discourse in this second period projects confidence in the China–Angola
partnership, framing it as a model of South–South engagement and a cornerstone of
China’s outreach to Africa.
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Table 3. Period 2 (April 2018 to October 2022) China and Angola’s HLPN Analysis
Parent theme
Most frequently mentioned child
themes
Total
number of
References
(among 8
Events)
Sentiment
Positive
Negative
Neutral
Cooperation
China-Africa Cooperation; practical
cooperation; bilateral cooperation; the
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
(FOCAC); investment cooperation.
18
9
0
9
Affairs
International affairs; African countries'
internal affairs
13
12
0
1
Relations
China-Angola relations; bilateral
relations.
8
6
0
2
Development
Common development; social
economic development.
7
3
0
4
Support
Long-term support; public support.
6
4
2
0
Enterprises
Chinese enterprises.
5
3
0
2
Source: Authors
Cooperation supplies the grammar around which the other motifs are organized. At the
Beijing Summit of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation and in subsequent readouts,
leaders framed Angola as a key partner and pledged to deepen “practical cooperation”
across trade, infrastructure, and investment. Xi Jinping stated that China is “confident of
the future of bilateral cooperation” and urged both sides to “cement political mutual
trust,” converting optimism into an expectation of implementation (Xinhua News Agency,
2018). In this period, cooperation is not a free‑standing value but a policy method that
folds the other themes into its operational logic (FOCAC, 2018). The material basis for
this confidence lies in the finance‑and‑contracting architecture that underwrote Angola’s
reconstruction. Scholars describe how oil‑anchored credit lines and state‑linked
contractors formed the “Angola model,” aligning ministries, policy banks, and enterprises
in resource‑for‑infrastructure bargains that made cooperation legible in roads, power,
housing, and logistics (Alves, 2013; Corkin, 2013). World Bank analysis shows Angola
captured a large share of Sub‑Saharan Africa’s resource‑backed loans, which helps
explain the persistence of enterprise and investment tokens in official phrasing during
2018–2022 (Mihalyi, Hwang, Rivetti, & Cust, 2022). The discourse rarely rehearses loan
mechanics, yet its repeated pairing of cooperation with investment and construction
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signals the material pipelines through which political rapport becomes visible in projects
and jobs.
Affairs rises to prominence by fusing respect for sovereignty with coordination in
multilateral venues. In Beijing in 2018, Xi emphasized that China “firmly supports the
people of African countries in opposing foreign interference, and [in] independently
choosing their path of development,” a formulation which Angolan leaders publicly
welcomed (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China [MFA], 2018;
Xinhua News Agency, 2018). The theme also looks outward: in 2020 Xi said China was
ready to “closely coordinate and cooperate with the Angolan side on multilateral
occasions and international affairs” to “jointly safeguard international fairness and
justice” (MFA, 2020). Affairs thus elevates practice into doctrine and supplies a
vocabulary that answers external criticism without naming critics.
References to relations are fewer than references to cooperation but carry cumulative
pragmatic weight. Leaders repeatedly invoke the strategic partnership, stress continuity,
and promise elevation. On the 2020 call, President Xi told President João Lourenço that
“Angola is an important cooperative partner of China in Africa” and that China stood ready
to “steer the direction of bilateral relations and take the China–Angola strategic
partnership to a higher level” (MFA, 2020). Read semantically, relations functions as
ethos: it stabilizes expectations, widens scope, and signals that the partnership is robust
to shocks without recalibrating its premises.
Development acquires sharper definition as leaders reframe it from reconstruction to
transformation. In January 2018, Wang Yi pledged that China would “firmly support
Angola in exploring a development path suitable to its national conditions,” including
“advancing the strategy of economic diversification and industrialization” and “building
up its capacity for independent development” (MFA, 2018). At FOCAC the same year and
again in 2020, Xi linked cooperation instruments to Angola’s plans, calling to “promote
new development in practical cooperation between the two countries, and boost Angola’s
economic and social development” (MFA, 2020). External work is sober about localization
and downstream linkages, yet it also documents domestic‑market formation in sectors
aligned with the official storyline (Wolf, 2017). In this corpus, development becomes the
horizon against which the sufficiency of cooperation is judged (FOCAC, 2018; MFA, 2018).
Support fuses the political and economic strands and validates loyalty through reciprocal
acts. Chinese statements promised that China would “firmly support Angola” across
diversification, industrialization, and stability, while Angolan statements reciprocated with
endorsements of China’s positions on questions described as core interests (MFA, 2018,
2020). During the pandemic, the language of support anchored itself in observable
deeds: Xinhua announced that China would “send [an] anti‑epidemic medical expert team
to Angola,” a move that supplied concrete referents for a consistently positive tone
(Xinhua, 2020). The few negative labels coded here target third‑party obstacles rather
than bilateral divergence, strengthening a back‑to‑back posture against external
turbulence.
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Enterprises appear as the on‑the‑ground agents that translate policy into outcomes, even
if the node registers fewer mentions than in Period 1. Xi said China would encourage
“competent Chinese enterprises to undertake investment cooperation in Angola,” and
Angolan leaders “welcome[d] more investment from Chinese enterprises in Angola,” a
reciprocal signal that links commercial activity to practical cooperation (MFA, 2020;
Xinhua, 2020). Official texts begin to register quality and localization by praising job
creation, industrial parks, and alignment with national needs. Independent research
warns that some contractors can become enclaves with limited linkages, a concern Angola
has tried to address through reform, which explains why statements pair investment
language with training and sustainability (Corkin, 2012).
Seen as a system, the six themes assemble a single high‑level political narrative rather
than six parallel tracks. Cooperation supplies the grammar; affairs articulate doctrine and
international posture; relations confer ethos and continuity; development provides the
horizon against which sufficiency is judged; support demonstrates reciprocal
commitment; enterprises furnish the mechanism that makes the story visible in projects
and jobs. The sentiment profile is overwhelmingly affirmative, and the rare negative
notes are aimed at unnamed externals. Read cumulatively, the storyline suggests a
mature partnership that moves beyond oil‑for‑infrastructure toward a development
alliance grounded in sovereignty and South–South solidarity.
The cumulative effect is to turn cooperation from a declaration into a program of action.
Pledges to “promote new development in practical cooperation” and to “boost Angola’s
economic and social development” are coupled to support commitments to “firmly
support Angola,” and to affairs language that commits both sides to “closely coordinate …
on multilateral occasions and international affairs” (MFA, 2018, 2020). In this
composition, relations supply the stable frame within which development objectives and
enterprise activity can be sequenced, portraying implementation not as ad hoc
contracting but as an integrated pathway to common advancement.
Period 1 established a grammar of win‑win cooperation and project‑led rebuilding, Period
2 writes the next chapter, bundling sovereignty, multilateralism, and transformation into
a more articulated script. Angola is cast as an “important cooperative partner,” Chinese
leaders voice certainty about the “future of bilateral cooperation,” and both sides pledge
to align instruments with national plans (Xinhua News Agency, 2018; MFA, 2020). These
statements cue ministries, policy banks, and firms that the partnership’s centre of gravity
is shifting from quantity to quality. The corpus therefore records a forward‑leaning
narrative in which vocabulary, institutional channels, and enterprise activity are braided
into a single storyline of common advancement.
In sum, the April 2018 to October 2022 storyline consolidates the earlier repertoire and
broadens it into a full‑spectrum partnership that integrates economic delivery with
geopolitical signalling. The NVivo counts and sentiment labels, the authoritative
quotations, and the supporting scholarship point in the same direction: a confident
narrative that treats Angola as a long‑term peer in China’s Africa policy. In this sense,
Period 2 reads as consolidation plus recalibration toward higher‑value, locally embedded
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growth and clearer joint positioning in global forums and rule‑making arenas. As shown
in Table 3, cooperation remains the master frame, affairs and relations furnish principles
and ethos, and development, support, and enterprises provide the vehicles that make
the story measurable in infrastructure, jobs, and capacity‑building.
Comparative Discussion
China–Angola high‑level political discourse from March 2013 to October 2022 unfolds
within a political‑economy nexus that links oil‑anchored finance, enterprise‑led delivery,
and an increasingly institutionalized strategic partnership. Authoritative statements by
President Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, and Wang Yi consistently tie cooperation to development
outcomes and political trust, for example, Xi urged both sides to “convert the consensus
reached by the two heads of state into more impetus for win‑win cooperation and
common development,” later committing to “promote new development in practical
cooperation between the two countries, and boost Angola’s economic and social
development,” while Wang Yi pledged that China would “firmly support Angola in
exploring a development path suitable to its national conditions” and advance
diversification and industrialization (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of
China [MFA], 2015, 2018, 2020). With this backdrop established, the next subsection
reads the decade‑level pattern reported in Table 4 before comparing Period 1 and Period 2
along the axes of economic cooperation and bilateral relations.
Common Themes
This section sets the common‑information baseline for March 2013–October 2022; as
Table 4 shows, it is the consolidated NVivo matrix of all 23 high‑level political
communication events in the corpus and it enumerates the four anchor themes and their
sentiment profile: cooperation (77 references), enterprises (47), development (41), and
relations (29), all coded positive or neutral with no negatives, which furnishes the
decade‑level profile against which the period shifts are interpreted. Read semiotically,
this is not an accident of phrasing but a communicative choice that normalizes the
instruments of statecraft (investment promotion, contracting, trade facilitation, policy
coordination) and reserves explicit affirmation for moments of reassurance, upgrade, or
doctrine. In other words, Table 4 captures a calm center in which economic and political
tokens point in the same direction and never contradict each other.
The co‑occurrence logic embedded in these anchors is consistent. Cooperation names the
work to be done; enterprises mark the transmission belt from pledges to projects;
development specifies the horizon against which sufficiency is judged; relations supplies
ethos and continuity. When Xi called ties “at the best level in history” and urged both
sides to “convert the consensus reached by the two heads of state into more impetus for
win‑win cooperation and common development,” the statement paired relations‑as‑ethos
with cooperation‑as‑mandate and development‑as‑telos, all in one move (Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China [MFA], 2015).
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Table 4. Analysis on China and Angola’s HLPN from March 2013 to October 2022
Common
Parent
theme
Most frequently mentioned child
theme
Total
number of
References
(among 23
HLPCEs)
Sentiment
Positive
Negative
Neutral
Cooperation
China-Africa cooperation; bilateral
cooperation; international cooperation.
77
28
0
49
Enterprises
Chinese enterprises.
47
20
0
27
Development
Social economic development.
41
14
0
27
Relations
China-Angola relations; China-Africa
relations; bilateral relations.
29
14
0
15
Source: Authors
When Wang Yi pledged to “firmly support Angola in exploring a development path suitable
to its national conditions” and in “advancing the strategy of economic diversification and
industrialization,” support and development were locked together to define what
worthwhile cooperation would mean going forward (MFA, 2018). And when President Xi
told President João Lourenço in 2020 that both sides should “promote new development
in practical cooperation between the two countries, and boost Angola’s economic and
social development,” while also calling to “cement political mutual trust,” the statement
tied cooperation and development to relations as assurance (MFA, 2020).
The proportional story in Table 4 matters for comparison. Measured across the decade,
cooperation contributes roughly two out of five anchor mentions, enterprises about one
quarter, development about one fifth, and relations the remainder. That hierarchy
remains intact across both periods even as emphases change. The period matrices show
that the cooperation–enterprises–development–relations braid is delivery‑heavy in
Period 1 and quality‑oriented in Period 2, but the aggregate never flips into conflictual
language. Leaders’ phrasing keeps the same repertoire while shifting the centre of
gravity. For example, Li Keqiang’s Luanda message that “the Chinese government
supports capable and reputable Chinese enterprises to invest in Angola, participate in
Angola’s economic and social development and boost local employment” welds
cooperation, enterprises, and development into a single operational script (The State
Council of the PRC, 2014). Later, President Xi’s promise to encourage “competent Chinese
enterprises to undertake investment cooperation in Angola,” and President Lourenço’s
welcome of “more investment from Chinese enterprises in Angola,” reposition the
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enterprise node from EPC contracting toward investment composition and local value
capture (MFA, 2020; Xinhua, 2020). The aggregate numbers reflect that rhetorical pivot
without breaking the anchor hierarchy.
Table 4 also clarifies how doctrine overlays, rather than displaces, the economic core. In
Period 2, two non‑anchor themes - affairs and support - rise into view in the matrices,
carrying sovereignty and reciprocity. Yet the decade aggregate remains anchored in
cooperation, enterprises, development, and relations, and those anchors never carry
negatives. When Xi stressed that China “firmly supports the people of African countries
in opposing foreign interference, and [in] independently choosing their path of
development,” and President Lourenço praised cooperation “without attaching any
political conditions or interference in African countries’ internal affairs,” the doctrinal
nodes reinforced the cooperative baseline instead of replacing it (MFA, 2018; Xinhua,
2018). This is why the aggregate feels steady even as world conditions grew more
turbulent: negativity is displaced outward onto unnamed third parties, while the anchors
remain positive or neutral.
Finally, Table 4 makes sense of the tone. Positives crest at visible moments of upgrade
and reassurance - FOCAC cycles, leadership meetings, and pandemic‑era pledges - while
neutrals dominate routine references to instruments and sectors. President Xi’s assurance
that China is “confident of the future of bilateral cooperation,” his promise to “promote
new development in practical cooperation,” and Wang Yi’s repeated “firmly support
Angola” formulation are the punctuation marks in an otherwise even register (MFA, 2018,
2020; Xinhua, 2018). The aggregate pattern thus gives us the interpretive key for
reading the period shifts that follow.
Economic Cooperation Comparison
Economic cooperation emerges as a unifying thread across both periods, but its emphasis
and tone evolved markedly from Period 1 (March 2013–March 2018) to Period 2 (April
2018–October 2022). Economic cooperation is the grammar of action in both periods,
but the meaning of delivery shifts from project throughput to investment quality and
resilience. In Period 1, the matrix records 156 anchor mentions split as cooperation 59
(19 positive, 40 neutral), enterprises 42 (17 positive, 25 neutral), development 34 (11
positive, 23 neutral), and relations 21 (8 positive, 13 neutral). The cluster tells a clear
story: state‑to‑state cooperation is translated into outcomes through firms, with
development framed as the dividend and relations supplying legitimacy. Li Keqiang’s
Luanda formulation - “supports capable and reputable Chinese enterprises to invest in
Angola, participate in Angola’s economic and social development and boost local
employment” - makes the implementation logic explicit (The State Council of the PRC,
2014; Xinhua, 2014). Xi’s 2015 line “convert the consensus reached by the two heads of
state into more impetus for win‑win cooperation and common development”, ties
leadership rapport to executable cooperation (MFA, 2015). These are the verbs and
objects that drive the Period 1 counts.
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The institutional substrate behind that rhetoric is well documented. Oil‑backed credit from
policy banks financed large EPC contracts by state‑linked firms, an arrangement often
called the Angola model (Alves, 2013; Corkin, 2013). Sectoral work shows Chinese
contractors established procurement channels and selective local linkages, which helps
explain why enterprise and cooperation references were frequent and tonally neutral:
delivery became bureaucratically routinized (Corkin, 2012). Country‑level analysis of
resource‑backed loans (RBLs) indicates Angola accounted for a large share of
Sub‑Saharan Africa’s stock by value, anchoring the discourse about “win‑win cooperation”
in visible project pipelines (Mihalyi, Hwang, Rivetti, & Cust, 2022). Period 1’s development
node already looks beyond reconstruction, as Wang Yi pledged to “firmly support Angola”
in diversification and industrialization, and to help build “capacity for independent
development,” turning development into a yardstick for cooperation quality (MFA, 2018).
In Period 2, the economic lexicon holds but its predicate tightens. Cooperation remains
the top anchor at 18 mentions (half positive), yet the rhetoric recasts what counts as
success. In the 2020 call, President Xi promised to “promote new development in
practical cooperation between the two countries, and boost Angola’s economic and social
development,” and to “cement political mutual trust,” coupling delivery to assurance
during oil and pandemic shocks (MFA, 2020). The matrix shows enterprises contracting
to 5 mentions, but the corpus is explicit that enterprise guidance is not retreat; rather, it
is reframed as a push toward investment composition and local value capture. Xi said
China would encourage “competent Chinese enterprises to undertake investment
cooperation in Angola,” and President Lourenço “welcome[d] more investment from
Chinese enterprises in Angola,” an exchange that locates firms inside a diversification
agenda (MFA, 2020; Xinhua, 2020).
The development node also shifts from reconstruction dividend to transformation horizon.
Wang Yi’s 2018 pledge to support Angola’s “economic diversification and
industrialization,” together with Xi’s 2020 call to “promote new development,” align HLPD
with Angola’s reform priorities under Lourenço (MFA, 2018, 2020). External scholarship
tempers expectations about depth of localization, Chinese contractors can operate as
enclaves, and RBLs carry cyclical risks, yet the Period 2 storyline actively moves toward
quality and fit rather than raw project counts (Corkin, 2012; Mihalyi et al., 2022; Wolf,
2017). The tonal discipline persists, with positives reserved for upgrades and
reassurance. Crucially, the aggregate shows no negatives attached to the four anchors;
the few negatives in Period 2 appear under support and target “foreign interference,” not
bilateral friction. The comparative arc is therefore coherent: Period 1 institutionalizes a
reconstruction‑through‑projects bargain; Period 2 preserves that grammar while pivoting
toward investment quality, domestic capacity, and risk‑aware delivery.
The continuities matter. Across both periods, cooperation remains the master frame and
enterprises remain the mechanism. What changes is the centre of gravity: from EPC
throughput and credit‑for‑infrastructure toward enterprise‑led investment that is explicitly
asked to serve diversification, technology transfer, and jobs. This is why the same
vocabulary can credibly tell two different time‑slices. In 2015, “convert the consensus…
into more impetus” carried the flavour of pipeline expansion; by 2020, “promote new
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Kaiyao Peng, Francisco José B. S. Leandro, Cátia Miriam Costa
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development in practical cooperation” reads like a promise of composition and resilience.
Both are cooperation; the metric of sufficiency has evolved (MFA, 2015, 2020).
Bilateral Relations and Diplomacy
Diplomacy legitimates and amplifies the economic storyline, moving from ethos‑building
to articulate doctrine and reciprocal signalling. In Period 1, references to relations are
fewer than cooperation and enterprises but carry decisive affective weight. On arrival in
Luanda in 2014, Li Keqiang called Angola “an important cooperative partner for China”
and pledged to “inject new impetus into the development of China–Angola relations,”
widening scope beyond oil into education, health, and people‑to‑people exchange (MFA,
2014). In 2015, Xi’s superlative that ties were “at the best level in history,” coupled with
his instruction to “convert the consensus… into more impetus for win‑win cooperation and
common development,” converts praise into program and binds political warmth to
enterprise delivery (MFA, 2015). The Period 1 matrix codes all four anchors
positive/neutral, and relations functions as ethos - stability without adversarial cues.
In Period 2, the diplomatic narrative retains its warmth while articulating its doctrinal
commitments more explicitly. During the 2020 call, President Xi reiterated that Angola is
“an important cooperative partner of China in Africa” and stated that China would “steer
the direction of bilateral relations and take the China–Angola strategic partnership to a
higher level,” transforming continuity into a logic of elevation (MFA, 2020). Two themes
render this logic visible.
First, affairs links sovereignty to multilateral coordination. In Beijing in 2018, Xi affirmed
that China “firmly supports the people of African countries in opposing foreign
interference, and [in] independently choosing their path of development,” a position that
Angolan leaders publicly welcomed. President Lourenço praised cooperation “without
attaching any political conditions or interference in African countries’ internal affairs,”
offering reciprocal validation (MFA, 2018; Xinhua, 2018).
Second, support establishes a back‑to‑back posture. Wang Yi pledged that China would
“firmly support Angola” in its diversification and industrialization efforts, while President
Lourenço “firmly supports the Chinese side’s position on issues concerning its core
interests,” a pairing directed at unnamed third‑party interference (MFA, 2018, 2020).
During the pandemic, this support acquired a tangible referent when China announced it
would “send [an] anti‑epidemic medical expert team to Angola,” an instance that aligns
rhetoric with concrete action (Xinhua, 2020).
The periodized reweighting mirrors the political calendar without breaking the aggregate
calm of Table 4. Within the anchor set, relations rise in relative share from Period 1 to
Period 2, echoing the language of elevation, while affairs become the second‑most salient
Period‑2 node overall and support remains overwhelmingly positive with rare negatives
directed at “foreign interference.” President Xi’s assurance that China is “confident of the
future of bilateral cooperation” and his call to “closely coordinate and cooperate […] on
multilateral occasions and international affairs” show how relations now carry not only
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ethos but also coordination (MFA, 2020; Xinhua, 2018). The diplomacy storyline thus
does two jobs at once: it protects the development program with sovereignty language
and amplifies it through multilateral alignment.
The comparative picture is a broadening from friendship‑plus‑projects to
friendship‑plus‑projects‑plus‑principles. Period 1 stabilizes expectations and legitimates
enterprise‑led delivery; Period 2 makes those premises explicit as doctrine, elevates the
partnership, and ties bilateral assurances to a shared stance in international forums. That
is why the same corpus can plausibly predict the “future of bilateral cooperation,” call to
“cement political mutual trust,” and promise to “take the China–Angola strategic
partnership to a higher level,” while continuing to invite “competent […] enterprises” to
invest. The matrices, the quotations, and the aggregate in Table 4 point to one narrative:
a trusted, mutually beneficial modernization drive, voiced in a calm register that treats
disruption as exogenous and bilateral cooperation as common sense.
Conclusion
This study asked how China’s high‑level political discourse toward Angola between March
2013 and October 2022 constructs and evolves a high‑level political narrative across two
periods, and what that narrative reveals about the strategic trajectory of bilateral
cooperation and relations. The answer is that authoritative Chinese discourse organizes
recurrent tokens - cooperation, development, enterprises, relations, support, and
alignment on international affairs - into a coherent storyline that moves from oil‑anchored
reconstruction toward a diversified, sovereigntist, and increasingly institutionalized
partnership. The corpus shows that leaders’ language consistently fuses material delivery
with political trust, turning economic interdependence and project execution into a
legitimation script for long‑term alignment. In this script, cooperation is the master
frame, development is the telos, enterprises are the transmission belt from policy to
projects, and relations and multilateral “affairs” supply ethos and doctrine. Read across
both periods, the narrative is cumulative rather than cyclical, adding layers of
sovereignty, multilateral coordination, and quality‑oriented growth while retaining the
lexicon of mutual benefit and South–South solidarity.
The implications for bilateral strategy are clear. The discursive braid of cooperation,
development, and friendship signals a durable alignment in which each government now
treats the other as a strategic constant. Analysts capture this trajectory by observing
that China and Angola “see each other as necessary strategic allies for the foreseeable
future” (Yoshikawa, 2025). Elite talk repeatedly pledges to “firmly support each other”
on sovereignty and development choices (Xinhua News Agency, 2024), and Angola’s
adherence to the One‑China principle is mirrored by Beijing’s assurances that it backs
Angola’s stability and diversification as a matter of principle (Xinhua News Agency, 2024).
Such rhetorical solidarity maps onto practice: Luanda’s voting and coalition behavior in
international fora tends to align with Beijing, while China has varied its tool kit - new
investment, rescheduling, sectoral projects - to cushion Angola during adverse shocks
(Forum Macao, 2017; Yoshikawa, 2025). The discursive pay‑off is soft power: a positive
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story about “trustworthy old friends” that helps convert repeated cooperation into
long‑horizon political goodwill.
Regionally, the narrative resonates beyond the dyad. Because Angola is the pivotal
Lusophone economy in Africa, high‑visibility wins in Luanda diffuse reputationally across
the Portuguese‑speaking sphere. The discourse of “mutual benefit” and visible delivery
has coincided with a broader reweighting of external influence in Lusophone Africa, where
China now “exerts the strongest developmental influence” in many contexts, above
traditional Ibero‑Atlantic actors (Peet, 2021). Forum Macao functions as a multilateral
amplifier that re‑packages the same themes - cooperation, development, pragmatic
delivery - for Lusophone audiences (Forum Macao, 2017). The Angola storyline therefore
serves a demonstration effect: a signal to peers that Chinese finance, contracting, and
policy coordination can be mobilized without the conditionalities that often accompany
Western engagements, or as Chinese sources frame it, to deliver growth without political
strings (Xinhua News Agency, 2018).
Globally, the discourse stitches the bilateral case into Beijing’s claim to speak with and
for the Global South. In set‑piece moments, Chinese leaders describe the partnership as
“mutual help between good friends” and exemplary cooperation “among developing
countries,” casting China as a “reliable friend and sincere partner” (Xinhua News Agency,
2024). Angola’s reciprocal endorsements strengthen this projection, especially where
Luanda echoes calls for an “equal and orderly multipolar world” (Xinhua News Agency,
2024). In this framing, the dyad is not an anomaly but evidence of a broader institutional
imaginary: a solidaristic Global South reshaping norms of non‑interference,
development‑centred cooperation, and a more representative multilateral order (Xinhua
News Agency, 2018). This positioning incorporates Angola into a coalition narrative that
amplifies China’s influence in agenda‑setting arenas while enabling Angola to diversify
partnerships and expand its policy space.
The forward trajectory implied by Xi’s third term is continuity with selective recalibration.
The core idea of friendship, “win‑win,” mutual support will persist; what shifts is the
emphasis on the quality, sustainability, and localization of cooperation. With Angola
entering a post‑oil adjustment and seeking to upgrade value chains, Chinese discourse is
already pivoting to themes of industrial policy, agricultural modernization, and
technology‑enabled diversification, vowing to help Angola “achieve agricultural
modernization, industrialization and economic diversification” (Nyabiage, 2024). We can
expect thicker references to signature concepts such as a community of shared future,
as well as more explicit links to Beijing’s global initiatives. The multilateral register is
likely to become more pronounced, with both parties reiterating solidarist language on
multipolarity and developing‑country representation (Xinhua News Agency, 2024). If
previous patterns persist, forthcoming messaging will continue to tighten the alignment
between political principles and enterprise implementation: directing firms to localize
operations, expand training, deepen supply‑chain linkages, and coordinate industrial
parks and logistics corridors with Angola’s own development plans.
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