The Cross-Border Circulation of Frames: Corporate Narratives and International Media Representations of China’s AI Health Product “Ant Afu”

Main Article Content

Xinyi Yi

Keywords

AI health products, Ant Afu, framework interaction, interpretive package, inclusive frame

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) health products represent a significant technological advancement; however, the construction of their global image and its interaction with corporate narratives remain unclear. Employing the Chinese AI health product “Ant Afu” as a case study, this research draws on interpretive package theory and a framing-interaction perspective to identify the dynamics between corporate and international media frames. It further examines the interaction patterns and influencing factors between corporate official narratives and the reporting frameworks adopted by mainstream international media. Through a mixed-methods analysis of 90 media samples from Chinese, U.S., and international outlets, this study identifies distinct patterns of frame reinforcement, reconstruction, and transformation. Findings indicate that international media reliance on conflict and economic consequences frames drives media bias, while the integration of corporate inclusive frames and causal attribution elements serves as a key predictor of positive coverage. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the construction of meaning in the transnational dissemination of health-tech products within non-Western contexts, offering critical insights for the global communication of such innovations.

Abstract 10 | PDF Downloads 7

References

  • [1] Landwehr-Matlé, J., Oppermann, K., & Lambach, D. (2026). Great power competition for global leadership in artificial intelligence (AI): Reconstructing AI narratives of the United States, China, and the European Union. Review of International Studies, 1-19.
  • [2] Zhao, X., & Zhang, Y. (2025). Guoji baodao zhong de Zhongguo keji xingxiang yu shouzhong renzhi: Jiyu 24 guo xinwen shuju yu wenjuan diaocha de shizheng fenxi [China’s technological image in international reporting and audience perception: An empirical analysis based on news data and surveys across 24 countries]. Xinmeiti yu Shehui [New Media and Society], (1), 1–22.
  • [3] Zheng, Y. (2019). “Niuyue Shibao” chengxian de Zhongguo keji xingxiang yanjiu [A study on China’s technological image as presented in The New York Times] [Master’s thesis, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law]. CNKI.
  • [4] Shi, A., & Tong, T. (2021). Cong guoji chuanbo dao zhanlüe chuanbo: Xinshidai de yujing pipei yu lujing zhuanxing [From international communication to strategic communication: Contextual adaptation and pathway transformation in the new era]. Xinwen yu Xiezuo [Journalism and Writing], (10), 14–22.
  • [5] Yuan, S., & Xu, Q. (2015). Guowai qiye zhanlüe chuanbo yanjiu de qishi [Implications of foreign research on corporate strategic communication]. Qingnian Jizhe [Youth Journalist], (29), 91–92. https://doi.org/10.15997/j.cnki.qnjz.2015.29.059.
  • [6] Qin, J., Ni, H., & Du, Q. (2022). Jin 20 nian Zhongwai zhanlüe chuanbo yanjiu bijiao fenxi [Comparative analysis of Chinese and international strategic communication research over the past two decades]. Guoji Chuanbo [Global Communication], (5), 11–22.
  • [7] Zheng, L., & Jiang, S. (2017). Qiye zhanlüe yu guojia xingxiang chuanbo: Yi Huawei gongsi wei li [Corporate strategy and national image communication: A case study of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.]. Qingnian Jizhe [Youth Journalist], (3), 53–54. https://doi.org/10.15997/j.cnki.qnjz.2017.03.025.
  • [8] Yi, J., Zhou, D., & Rong, K. (2026). Pingtai xing qiye shengtai xitong jingzheng youshi de jingjixue jieshi [Economic explanations of competitive advantage in platform-based enterprise ecosystems]. Zhongguo Shehui Kexue [Social Sciences in China], 47(2), 91–110, 205–206.
  • [9] Zhang, J. (2022). Zhongguo keji qiye guoji chuanbo de tansuo yu sikao [Exploration and reflection on the international communication of Chinese technology enterprises]. Duiwai Chuanbo [International Communications], (3), 18–21. https://doi.org/10.26948/j.cnki.dwcb.2022.03.005.
  • [10] Gitlin, T. (1980). The whole world is watching: Mass media in the making and unmaking of the new left. University of California Press.
  • [11] Tuchman, G. (1978). Making news: A study in the construction of reality. Free Press.
  • [12] Gamson, W. A., & Modigliani, A. (1989). Media discourse and public opinion on nuclear power: A constructionist approach. American Journal of Sociology, 95(1), 1-37.
  • [13] Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Towards clarification of a fractured paradigm. McQuail's reader in mass communication theory, 390, 397.
  • [14] Liu, Y., & He, M. (2024). Jiankang chuanbo zhong laonian qunti shuzi fenghong chansheng de lunli wenti yu duice yanjiu [Ethical issues and countermeasures regarding the digital divide among older adults in health communication]. Zhongguo Yixue Lunlixue [Chinese Medical Ethics], 37(7), 807–812.
  • [15] Xu, Q. (2016). Chengxiang jiankang chuanbo zhong “zhishi gou” yu “shuzi gou” xianxiang de shizheng yanjiu [An empirical study on the “knowledge gap” and “digital divide” in urban–rural health communication] [Master’s thesis, Chengdu University of Technology]. CNKI.
  • [16] Huang, X., Xie, T., Gu, D., Wu, W., Wang, L., & Shuai, F. (2024). Laonianren jiankang zhishi henggou xianzhuang yu mihe lujing [Current status and bridging pathways of the health knowledge gap among older adults]. Yixue yu Zhexue [Medicine and Philosophy], 45(23), 44–48.
  • [17] Chen, C., Ding, S., & Wang, J. (2023). Digital health for aging populations. Nature Medicine, 29(7), 1623-1630.
  • [18] Senteio, C., & Magsamen-Conrad, K. (2025). Health Information Technology: An Umbrella Review of Health-Communication Research. European Journal of Health Communication, 6(2), 33-56.
  • [19] Mathews, S. C., McShea, M. J., Hanley, C. L., Ravitz, A., Labrique, A. B., & Cohen, A. B. (2019). Digital health: a path to validation. NPJ Digital Medicine, 2(1), 38.
  • [20] Cross, R., Davis, S., & O'Neil, I. (2017). Health communication: Theoretical and Critical Perspectives. John Wiley & Sons.
  • [21] Lupton, D. (2014). The commodification of patient opinion: the digital patient experience economy in the age of big data. Sociology of Health & Illness, 36(6), 856-869.
  • [22] Richardson, S., Lawrence, K., Schoenthaler, A. M., & Mann, D. (2022). A framework for digital health equity. NPJ Digital Medicine, 5(1), 119.
  • [23] Zhou, Y., & Gong, B. (2026). Xueshu shenfen de tiaoshi yu xueke bianjie de xieshang: Zhongguo jiankang chuanbo duxingzhe yu kuajiezhe de xueshu shehuihua yanjiu [Academic identity negotiation and disciplinary boundary work: Academic socialization of dedicated practitioners and boundary spanners in Chinese health communication]. Xinwen yu Chuanbo Yanjiu [Journalism and Communication Research], 33(4), 116–136, 159–160.
  • [24] Chen, J., & Lian, L. (2025). Jiankang xushi yu guoji chuanbo xiaoneng: Jiangou quanqiu huayu tixi de lujing tansuo [Health narrative and international communication efficacy: Pathways to constructing a global discourse system]. Shanxi Daxue Xuebao (Zhexue Shehui Kexue Ban) [Journal of Shanxi University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition)], 48(4), 68–76. https://doi.org/10.13451/j.cnki.shanxi.univ(phil.soc.).2025.04.008.
  • [25] Li, S. (2018). Jiangou zhuyi fanti xia kuangjia fenxi de chuangxin: Jiyu chuanboxuan fenhua de yanjiu beijing [Innovation in framing analysis from the constructivist paradigm: Based on the differentiated right to communicate]. Chuban Faxing Yanjiu [Publishing Research], (9), 23–28. https://doi.org/10.19393/j.cnki.cn11-1537/g2.2018.09.006.
  • [26] Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: An overview and assessment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(2000), 611-639.
  • [27] Spiess, O. (2025). Frames are for talking: Modeling interactants’ co-constructed semantic and pragmatic structures. Journal of Pragmatics, 246, 170-187.
  • [28] Chen, B. (2014). Wangluo huanjing xia zhengyi xing shijian de baodao kuangjia ji kuangjia hudong jizhi yanjiu [Research on reporting frames and frame interaction mechanisms of controversial events in the network environment] [Doctoral dissertation, Wuhan University]. CNKI.
  • [29] Zhong, Z. (2015). Meijie kuangjia jingzheng: Quntixing shijian wangluo yulun huayu shijian [Media frame competition: Discursive practices in online public opinion on mass incidents]. Jin Chuanmei [Today’s Mass Media], 23(11), 16–19.
  • [30] Neuman, W. R., Just, M. R., & Crigler, A. N. (1992). Common knowledge: News and the construction of political meaning. University of Chicago Press.
  • [31] Semetko, H. A., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2000). Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news. Journal of communication, 50(2), 93-109.
  • [32] De Vreese, C. H. (2005). News framing: Theory and typology. Information design journal+ document design, 13(1), 51-62.
  • [33] Norman, G. (2010). Likert scales, levels of measurement and the “laws” of statistics. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 15(5), 625-632.
  • [34] Wang, J. S., Haider, S., Tohidi, A., Gupta, A., Zhang, Y., Callison-Burch, C., ... & Watts, D. J. (2025, April). Media bias detector: Designing and implementing a tool for real-time selection and framing bias analysis in news coverage. In Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Yokohama, Japan.
  • [35] Entman, R. M. (2007). Framing bias: Media in the distribution of power. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 163-173.
  • [36] Li, J., Dada, A., Puladi, B., Kleesiek, J., & Egger, J. (2024). ChatGPT in healthcare: a taxonomy and systematic review. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 245, 108013.
  • [37] Ramaswamy, A., Tyagi, A., Hugo, H., Jiang, J., Jayaraman, P., Jangda, M., ... & Nadkarni, G. N. (2026). ChatGPT Health performance in a structured test of triage recommendations. Nature Medicine, 1-5.
  • [38] Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing media systems: Three models of media and politics. Cambridge University Press.
  • [39] Qin, H. (2016). Meijie tizhi: Yige jidai shuli de yanjiu lingyu: Zhuanfang Jialifuniya Daxue Shengdiyage Fenxiao Chuanbo Xueyuan Jiaoshou Danier Halin [Media systems: A research field in urgent need of clarification—An interview with Professor Daniel Hallin, School of Communication, University of California, San Diego]. Guoji Xinwenjie [Chinese Journal of Journalism and Communication], 38(2), 73–83. https://doi.org/10.13495/j.cnki.cjjc.2016.02.005.