A Topic-Modelling-Assisted Discourse Study of DiDi's Delisting from the New York Stock Exchange in Anglo-American Media Coverage

The Chinese giant ride-hailing company DiDi announced its delisting from the New York Stock Exchange in 2021. The event gained widespread attention from the Western media, signalling China's defense in data security by restricting tech giants' offshore listings. This study aims to make explicit the discursive construction of this event among 300 news reports through topic modelling and critical discourse analysis. The analyses showed that the event is recontextualised through four prominent topics: Government intervention, Law enforcement, Financial market response and Impacts on Chinese tech giants. DiDi's delisting is discursively constructed as more than a case of failed overseas financial activity, but as a threat to the existing financial world order dominated mainly by Western world. Growing concern has been raised as to whether cybersecurity may become an emerging battleground, particularly in a climate of heightened tensions between the U.S. and China on the economic and political fronts. The findings are interpreted with regard to the deep-embedded ideological divergence between socialism and capitalism and also the practical socio-political concerns between the two competing powers. This study also demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating the topic-modelling approach into discourse studies.