Integrating Ecological Wisdom in Economic Discourse: A Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of China International Import Expo News Reports (2018–2024)

While ecological wisdom has been widely examined in traditional environmental discourse, its representation within economic narratives in global media remains underexplored. Amid intensifying challenges of balancing growth with sustainability, this study investigates how ecological wisdom is discursively constructed and has evolved in international economic discourse, focusing on 601 English-language news reports from the China International Import Expo (CIIE) between 2018 and 2024. Employing a corpus-assisted Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA), the study identifies key ecological topics centering on low-carbon transition, green innovation, high-quality development, sustainable growth, and international cooperation, through LDA topic modeling and intercoder annotation. Intertextuality analysis, supported by correspondence analysis, reveals increasing integration of ecological values via references to state policies, keynote speeches, corporate perspectives, and global sustainability agendas. Discursive strategy analysis highlights a future-oriented, collaborative, and inclusive stance that frames ecological wisdom as interconnectedness, openness, and harmony. However, explicit references to China’s “ecological civilization” concept are largely absent, limiting the cultural depth and resonance of these narratives. The findings highlight how intertextual and interdiscursive mechanisms influence the framing of ecological wisdom in global economic media, underscoring the need for more culturally grounded storytelling strategies. The present study contributes to a deeper understanding of how sustainability values are embedded in economic discourse, offering insights into enhancing the cultural coherence of China’s ecological narratives in international communication.