Framing the Digital Silk Road: Media Portrayals of China’s Digital Engagement in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

The study investigates how state-affiliated and independent media outlets in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan frame China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) from 2020 to 2026. By combining qualitative content analysis with critical framing analysis, the research analyzes a corpus of articles from seven outlets that are selected purposively: Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Kazinform, Azattyq (RFE/RL Kazakhstan), and Orda.kz in Kazakhstan; and Kabar, 24.kg, and Azattyk (RFE/RL Kyrgyzstan) in Kyrgyzstan. The study is guided by mainly three research questions that addresses the overall tone and dominant frames of DSR coverage. According to the findings of this research, there is a systematic divergence between state and independent media outlets in both countries. State-affiliated media consistently portray the DSR as an impetus for national development and progress. More precisely, the narratives such as ‘presidential endorsement’, ‘modernisation-through-emulation’, ‘sovereignty-assured partnership’, ‘exemplar-emulation’ are actively employed. Conversely, independent outlets frame the DSR through the critical lenses, and foregrounded concerns on civil liberties and data sovereignty. Chinese digital engagement is delivered as a catalyst for the increasing scope of authoritarian control. Critically, these variations are determined to be structural and institutional factors rather than purely editorial. The study also contributes to scholarship on Chinese influence in BRI partner states, diffusion of digital authoritarianism in post-Soviet contexts and the politics of constrained media framing.