A SEMIOTIC DECODING OF POLITICAL DISCOURSE BETWEEN CHINA AND PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Authors

  • KAIYAO PENG https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8180-0867
  • FRANCISCO JOSÉ LEANDRO https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1443-5828
  • CATIA MIRIAM COSTA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7666-5661

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.16.1.14

Keywords:

Portugal, China, Portuguese-speaking Countries, Political Narrative, Semiotics, lt and Road Initiative (B&RI), International Relations

Abstract

This paper is the first in a series that examines how China engages in high-level political discourse (HLPD) via political speeches, bilateral and multilateral agreements, official documents, and media reports, with Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs). Political discourse serves as a tool through which states convey policies, diplomacy, ideologies, and national image. For China, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, there has been an explicit focus on building a robust discourse system to enhance its international communications and project itself as a peaceful, positive global power. In recent years, China has steadily increased its high-level exchange activities with PSCs, prompting this series of studies. The current paper focuses specifically on Portugal. Using official government sources, including websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this study collected 32 textual samples of HLPD from high-level political communication events (HLPCEs) that took place between March 2013 and October 2022, during President Xi’s first two terms in office. These events involved Xi Jinping, former Head of Government Li Keqiang, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi. The innovative aspect of this study lies in its use of semiotic analysis to decode the HLPD samples. This analysis concludes that China places significant emphasis on sustainable cooperation, particularly in trade and technology, while fostering people-to-people exchanges and human bonds.

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Author Biographies

KAIYAO PENG, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8180-0867

Doctoral candidate at the City University of Macau (China), where she focuses on the intricate dynamics between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Her research spans political science, international relations, cross-cultural comparison, sustainable governance, and regional cooperation in the China Greater Bay Area. Peng is involved in City University of Macau’s 2024 research program “Research on the History of Relations between Macau and Portuguese-speaking Countries”, aimed at deepening the understanding of Macau’s political and cultural exchanges with Lusophone nations. In 2023, she contributed to the program “Investing in Cultural Diversity: Portuguese-speaking Countries”, sponsored by the Macau Foundation, where she authored book chapters exploring the cultural and linguistic diversity within the Lusophone world. Her academic pursuits include fostering greater understanding and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, making significant contributions to political science and international relations.

FRANCISCO JOSÉ LEANDRO, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1443-5828

Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the Catholic University of Portugal. From 2016 to 2017, he participated in a post-doctoral research program on state monopolies in China, focusing on One Belt One Road studies. In 2014, 2017, and 2020, he was awarded the Institute of European Studies in Macau (IEEM) Academic Research Grant, a major component of the Asia-Europe Comparative Studies Research Project. 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: Steps of Greatness: The Geopolitics of OBOR (2018), University of Macau; The Challenges, Development and Promise of Timor-Leste (2019), City University of Macau; The Belt and Road Initiative: An Old Archetype of a New Development Model (2020), Palgrave Macmillan; Geopolitics of Iran (2021), Palgrave Macmillan; The Handbook of Special Economic Zones (2021), IGI Global; Disentangled Visions on Higher Education: Preparing the Generation Next (2023), Peter Lang Publishers; The Palgrave Handbook of Globalization with Chinese Characteristics (2023), Palgrave Macmillan; Changing the Paradigm of Energy Geopolitics: Resources and Pathways in the Light of Global Climate Challenges (2023), Peter Lang Publishers; Portuguese-speaking Small Island Developing States: The Development Journeys of Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste (2023), Palgrave Macmillan; and The Palgrave Handbook on China-Europe-Africa Relations (2025), Palgrave Macmillan. Francisco Leandro is a member of OBSERVARE (Observatory of Foreign Relations), established in 1996 as a center for studies on International Relations at the Autonomous University of Lisbon, Portugal.

CATIA MIRIAM COSTA, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7666-5661

Researcher at the Centre for International Studies and an Invited Assistant Professor at Iscte — University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal). She is 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 also develops teaching and research sessions with the University of Macao, the University of Granada, and the City University of Macao. 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.

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Published

2025-05-20

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2025)

Section

ARTICLES