A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Reports on DeepSeek - A Case Study of China Daily

Critical discourse analysis constitutes a branch of linguistics.By analysing news reports, the public may make a good understanding of the current development of DeepSeek artificial intelligence technology.These reports are somewhat critical.Thus using critical discourse analysis theory to analyse DeepSeek AI coverage is both highly suitable and significant.This study is based on Fairclough's three-dimensional framework of critical discourse analysis (description, interpretation, explanation).Taking 22 DeepSeek-related reports published by China Daily from January 2025 to December 2025 as corpus material, it combines quantitative and qualitative methods to systematically explore the linguistic characteristics, discourse pratice strategies, and underlying significance of social practice in such reports.The study reveals that at the textual level, corpus-based methods were employed.Firstly, by using Antconc statistical tool to identify high-frequency words in the collected corpus, the study can find AI, DeepSeek, innovation, and global and so on are the most frequently used.The language employed tends towards positive attitudes, emphasising technological innovation and national achievements.Subsequently, the usage of modal verbs was analysed, revealing that news reports predominantly use low and medium intensity modal verbs to express attitudes towards DeepSeek AI technology.At the discourse practice level, reports manipulate an intertextual strategy which mainly use indirect quotations, with direct quotations as a supplement, citing perspectives from experts, enterprises, and government officials to enhance the authority and persuasiveness of the discourse, highlighting the innovative development and cost advantages of DeepSeek's AI technology.At the social practice level, the coverage underscored China's innovative capacity in AI and its confidence in global technological cooperation, reflecting the nation's resolve to advance scientific and technological self-reliance and participate in global governance through media discourse.This study helps readers understand the ideology of language features, offering a critical lens for understanding the development of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence.