The Dream of the Dragon: A content analysis of Xi Jinping’s “China Dream”

China under Xi Jinping has a story to tell. In recent years, China has devoted more time and energy extending its discursive influence overseas. Aspirational propaganda slogans such as Xi’s “Chinese dream” indicate a potential change from Deng Xiaoping’s “bide your time, hide your strength” towards an outwardly focussed foreign policy of Striving for Achievement as China’s confidence grows. This project conducts a content analysis following the method set out by Klaus Krippendorff of 1907 Xinhua articles from 2013 – 2017 and finds that while this assertion was true shortly after articulation; coverage reverted to an inward focus in subsequent years. Furthermore, the findings show that there is an individualistic aspect to how the dream is portrayed whether it is intended by top government figures or not. Understanding how tifa develop, interrelate – or depart from each other – is vital in understanding contemporary political discourse in China. Lastly, the Chinese dream contains within it the beginnings of a prototype vision of Chinese exceptionalism.