SSRScientific and Social Research2661-43322981-9946Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.26689/ssr.v8i3.14463ArticleFrom “Angels” to “Role Models of the Times”: A Discourse-Historical Analysis of Ningxia’s Media Coverage of Medical Aid to Benin (2006–2024)https://artdesignp.com/journal/SSR/8/3/10.26689/ssr.v8i3.14463YangJingwen,CuiHongmei,ZhangYue,ZhangXiuyuan2026832026-04-15China’s foreign medical aid teams are vital to health diplomacy, with local governments playing a pivotal role in discursive mediation. This study analyzes official reports on Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region’s medical aid teams to Benin from 2006 to 2024, employing Discourse-Historical Analysis (DHA) to examine how local media construct legitimacy narratives. Diachronic analysis reveals a shift from emotionally charged “humanitarian redemption” to strategic narratives of “technological empowerment” and “global governance partnership.” Through referential, predicational, and argumentation strategies, local media utilize the “recontextualization” mechanism to translate national diplomatic strategies into localized practices. The study highlights “technological governance” as an emerging soft power resource and provides empirical insights into vertical narrative transmission at the sub-national level.

Fairclough N, 2003, Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. Routledge, London.

Wodak R, 2015, The Politics of Fear. SAGE Publications Ltd., London. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446270073

Reisigl M, 2017, The Discourse-historical Approach, in The Routledge Handbook of Critical Discourse Studies. Routledge, London, 44–59.

Reisigl M, Wodak R, 2001, Discourse and discrimination. Routledge, London.

Bai JH, 2006, Benin’s Ningxia Angels: Zero Distance with AIDS. Ningxia Daily, November 6, 2006, 2.

Van Leeuwen T, 2007, Legitimation in Discourse and Communication. Discourse & Communication, 1(1): 91–112.

Shang LB, 2023, 45 Years of Crossing Mountains and Seas to Write Great Love. Ningxia Daily, October 23, 2023, 1. Viewed on March 2nd, 2026, https://szb.nxrb.cn/nxrb/pc/con/202310/23/content_94484.html

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, 2020, Benin Reports 2 Confirmed Cases of COVID-19, and the Ningxia Medical Team Aiding Benin Stays at their Posts to Actively Respond. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, March 20, 2020. Viewed on March 2nd, 2026, https://wsjkw.nx.gov.cn/sy_279/jknx/xwbd/202003/t20200320_2820751.html

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, 2019, A Record of Aiding Benin — The First Smart Healthcare Experience in Benin. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, January 18, 2019. Accessed on March 2, 2026, https://wsjkw.nx.gov.cn/xwzx_279/sxdt/201901/t20190118_2809637.html

Shang LB, 2024, Ningxia Medical Experts Conduct Multi-disciplinary Consultations to Treat African Patients. Ningxia Daily, December 5, 2024. Accessed on March 2, 2026, https://szb.nxrb.cn/nxrb/pc/con/202412/05/content_142051.html

Thompson D, 2005, China’s Soft Power in Africa: From the “Beijing Consensus” to Health Diplomacy. China Brief.

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, 2023, The 26th Chinese Medical Team Aiding Benin Successfully Held a Free Medical Consultation Activity in Bogou City. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, April 13, 2023. Accessed on March 2, 2026, https://wsjkw.nx.gov.cn/sy_279/jknx/gzdt/202304/t20230413_4030126.html

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, 2022, Chinese Medical Team Aiding Benin Skillfully Uses Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture to Treat Newborns. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Health Commission, September 22, 2022. Accessed on March 2, 2026, https://wsjkw.nx.gov.cn/xwzx_279/gzdt_46361/202209/t20220922_3789078.html

Nye JS, 2008, The Powers to Lead. Oxford University Press, Oxford.