Cyber-Nationalism in China: Popular Discourse on China’s Belt Road

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the ongoing project in a long, steady progression of China’s foreign relations, and a new paradigm for global governance among countries around the world. Previous studies confirm that China’s internet is full of nationalism, but relatively few studies examine the case of the BRI. Therefore, this chapter analyses the online nationalism discourse on BRI. This study uses in-depth case-study analyses of the Budapest-Belgrade Railway Saga and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on Weibo to illustrate popular nationalism. This study finds out that geopolitical rivalry, self-interest in globalism, pride, and satisfaction with the government are the four major themes and important elements of popular nationalism discourse. The Chinese popular nationalism uses the BRI as a tool to express their hostile attitude towards foreign countries and demonstrate their willingness to become the leader of the world. However, their willingness of becoming the leader of the world shows a feature of the self-interest in globalism that is influenced by Chinese Confucian culture. Overall, the study argues that Chinese popular nationalism is a social construct that is embodied in people’s personal experience and understanding.