Mediating Global and National Narratives: A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of Hong Kong’s City Image in China Daily’s Greater Bay Area Coverage

As a globally strategic Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, Hong Kong occupies a critical juncture in regional economic integration and geopolitical narratives. Yet scholarly attention to its mediated city image remains limited. This study employs corpus-based critical discourse analysis (CB-CDA) to examine 35 articles from China Daily’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) coverage (April 24, 2023, and December 7, 2024), interrogating how Hong Kong’s identity is constructed through economic, administrative, and socio-political lenses. The analysis identifies five dominant thematic frameworks: Economic Hub, Governance and Administration, International Connectivity, Regional Cooperation, and Innovation Ecosystem. Through keyword and collocation networks, findings reveal Hong Kong’s dual discursive positioning as a global financial gateway and a synergistic partner in regional integration, underscored by its roles in offshore yuan markets, cross-border talent mobility, and technological innovation. By integrating critical discourse analysis (CDA) with corpus linguistics (CL), this research advances a nuanced understanding of media-driven city image formation, offering insights into the interplay between Hong Kong’s historical legacies, China’s national strategies, and global economic narratives. The study contributes to policymaking, cultural diplomacy, and sustainable urban development discourses in an era of escalating geopolitical complexity.