Navigating the digital nexus: new tech achievements in Chinese textbooks for foreigners

This research evaluates the portrayal of technological advancements in the New Era Spoken Chinese Series, a textbook series designed for non-native speakers, in order to identify underlying themes and ideologies. The study employs both content analysis and critical discourse analysis as its primary methodologies, examining dialogues across the entire series. Three prominent themes emerged from the analysis: electronic payment systems, interpersonal communication in the digital age, and technological products integral to contemporary Chinese life. The findings reveal a strong emphasis on China’s technological progress, often presented in favorable comparison to developed countries such as Germany and Japan. While the textbooks highlight the positive aspects of China’s technological achievements, they offer limited engagement with potential limitations or challenges. The study also notes a subtle promotion of pro-environmental ideologies and highlights an underrepresentation of older generations, which may reflect perceived digital literacy gaps. Furthermore, there is a notable focus on younger demographics—particularly university students—and a narrow representation of foreign characters, limited mostly to those of Asian and European descent. This contributes to a lack of broader global inclusivity. Cutting-edge technologies are presented within the framework of Chinese society, with little attention given to advancements occurring elsewhere in the world. Notwithstanding these findings, no overt national stereotypes were identified.