Discourse Construction Of China's National Identity In The Beginning Of The 21^st Century

National identity is an important part for a nation to participate in international affairs in the international community and a significant expression of international influence.China is not only an ancient civilization with a long history,but also an influential modern political and economic nation.As China progresses from a major country to a strong one,the appropriate construction of the national identity determines its status in the international community and the role it plays in assuming international responsibilities.The Report on the Work of the State Council(hereinafter referred to as the“Government Work Report”),which is the central government's report on the governance of China,is an expression of the state's will,and its discursive construction of the national identity reflects China's perception of its own national identity and its willingness to construct it.To this end,this paper examines the relevant contents of the Government Work Report in all years from 2000 to 2020,and draws on Alexander Wendt's research framework on the construction of national identity of Constructivism Theory to analyze the issues of China's formation of its national identity in the international community,to explore the creative process and development direction of China's national identity discourse construction at the beginning of the 21 st century,standing at the historic changes unseen in a century.This paper examines two questions:(1)What words are used in the interpretation of Chinese national identity in the Government Work Report;and(2)What kind of Chinese national identity is constructed in the Government Work Report as the embodiment of the will of the state.In terms of research methodology,this paper first deconstructs the discourses involving national identity in the Government Work Report from 2000 to 2020,and explores the Chinese national identities constructed in the Government Work Report in different years since the 21 st century through word frequency analysis and discourse content analysis,and sorts out the development trends of these identities.Secondly,this paper takes into account current scholars' improvement of Wendt's theory on national identity,categorizes the Chinese national identities constructed in the Government Work Report in terms of Personal-Type Identity,Role Identity,and Collective Identity,and explores the focus and characteristics of the content of Chinese national identity discourse construction in different historical periods.Finally,the paper conducts correlation analysis between political and economic factors,such as the Taiwan question,China's economic development,and China-US relations and Chinese national identity discourse,and explores and elaborates the factors affecting the construction of Chinese national identity discourse.After the analysis,this paper concludes that since the 21 st century,China has constructed three major national identities in terms of its political system,economic development,and international role.In other words,from the perspective of the national political system,China's national identity constructed in discourse is “a socialist country”.From the perspective of economic development level,China's national identity in discourse is “a developing country”.And from the perspective of China's recognition of the international order and self-identification of its own role in the international community,China's national identity in discourse is “a responsible major country”.In terms of specific constructions,for Personal-Type Identities,“a socialist state under the leadership of the Communist Party of China”,“a unified country”,“a developing country centered on economic construction”,“a major country”,and “a strong maritime country” have been constructed.Among them,the first four are based on the personal-type identities constructed since the founding of the People's Republic of China in the 20 th century,and the connotations of these identities have been improved and supplemented in the light of the specific situation in the 21 st century;while the “strong maritime country” is an identity actively constructed by China in the face of the new situation in the 21 st century.In terms of Role Identity,the Government Work Report clearly states that China's roles in the international community are “the role of working for world peace”,“the contributor to global development”,and “the upholder to the international order”.In terms of the development process,China has gone through stages of adaptation to international rules,participation in international rules and deep participation in international rules from 2000 to 2006,2007 to 2013,and2014 to 2020,respectively;and China's role identity has different meanings and specific roles in these three different periods.Thirdly,in terms of Collective Identity,China has constructed three identities: "a member of developing countries","a member of the Belt and Road Initiative",and "a member of the community with a shared future for mankind".Among them,the construction of "a member of developing countries" is not only an understanding of China's actual national conditions,but also a further reflection of China's role as a contributor to global development.The construction of "a member of the Belt and Road Initiative" is not only a consideration of geopolitics,but also a reflection of China's participation in international affairs as a responsible major country and its proposal for global governance.The construction of the identity of "a member of the community with a shared future for mankind" is the expression and construction of China's concept of lasting peace and common prosperity,which is a collective identity constructed conceptually.And as its participation in international affairs and global governance,the construction of the collective identity of China is getting deeper and deeper.This shows that the development of China's discourse construction reflects the characteristics of historicity,practicality and openness,and has experienced an epoch-making transformation process from passivity to initiative,from standard consciousness to audience consciousness.