LEXICAL AND PRAGMATIC MEANS OF REPRESENTING RUSSIAN-CHINESE COOPERATION WITHIN THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE IN RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE DIGITAL MEDIA DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article examines lexical and pragmatic means representing Russian-Chinese cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative in Russian-language digital media discourse over the period 2013–2025. The research material comprises a corpus of publications from four leading Russian digital media outlets – RBC, TASS, RIA Novosti, and Kommersant – compiled through continuous sampling based on key thematic queries. The study employs a comprehensive methodology including content analysis, lexic-and-semantic classification, and pragmatic analysis of communicative strategies. It was found that lexical units representing cooperation cluster into seven thematic fields: trade-economic, infrastructural, transport-logistical, energy, investment, humanitarian-cultural, and political-diplomatic. The trade-economic and transport-logistical spheres demonstrate the highest linguistic density, correlating with the actual structure of bilateral trade turnover. The study traces the dynamics of quantitative and qualitative shifts in representation: from predominantly informational-neutral vocabulary in 2013–2016 to intensified evaluative-positive pragmatics in 2019–2022, and the emergence of protective-compensatory strategies after 2022 amid sanctions pressure. The findings are relevant to regional studies, media linguistics, and intercultural communication practice.