The International Academic Construction of “Made in China”: A Discourse-Historical Approach

This article explores the academic discourse on “Made in China” from the perspective of the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA), aiming to understand how this discourse is constructed, evaluated, and transformed in the international academic landscape. Drawing on a corpus of highly cited English academic papers, the study examines the discursive strategies used to shape the evolving image of “Made in China”. The findings indicate a clear shift in academic perception—from a label associated with cheap labor and low-end production to one increasingly linked to technological innovation, environmental responsibility, and global cooperation. Through keyword analysis, intertextual mapping, and discursive strategy identification, this article offers insights into how language reflects and reproduces broader geopolitical and ideological shifts.