JoLIE 15:1/2022
CHINESE METAPHORS FOR THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE. A STUDY OF XI JINPING’S POLITICAL SPEECHES AT THE BELT AND ROAD FORUMS FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN 2017 AND 2019
Danyang Kou
Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary
Abstract
The present research aimed to investigate the use and function of the metaphors for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) employed by President Xi Jinping in his eight public speeches that were delivered at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRFIC) in 2017 and 2019, as a proper analysis of the metaphors pertaining to BRI can help to reveal Xi’s political intentions and China’s official design for the BRI in order to avoid misinterpretations. The research results are evidence of the pervasive use of metaphors in Xi’s speeches, as he mainly relied on the conventional metaphors of BUILDING, PERSON, PLANT, ROAD, JOURNEY and FRIENDSHIP to present and promote the BRI. Different metaphors for BRI have different functions in fulfilling the BRFIC’s mission and in outlining the aims, principles and benefits of the BRI. Differences in the choice and frequency of these metaphors on two occasions at the BRFIC revealed the shift in the focus of Xi’s speeches due to the BRI’s progress, and Chinese cultural elements were visible in his metaphorical conceptualisations of the BRI.
Keywords: Metaphor; Belt and Road Initiative; Xi Jinping; political speeches, Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.
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How to cite this paper: Kou, D. (2022). Chinese metaphors for the Belt and Road Initiative. A study of Xi Jinping’s political speeches at the Belt and Road forums for international cooperation in 2017 and 2019. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 15(1), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2022.15.1.6
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