Abstract:

The field of public opinion in the West is a field of disputed opinions. There are various extreme discourses produced by certain politicians, but there are also some relatively rational voices. The Brookings Institution of the United States has been regarded as a global “Center of Excellence”. Its research reports pursue independent analysis, which not only profoundly influence the American government and public opinion, but also affect the global knowledge production of China’s image to a certain extent. Using more than 1,000 reports on the new coronavirus published on the Brookings Institution’s official website since December 2019, with the help of the “frame analysis” of discourse, it is clear that in the eyes of Brookings experts: the new coronavirus pandemic has seriously threatened the safety of human life, but the harm of “info-demic” to global development should also not be underestimated; the out-of-control of the US epidemic lies in the US government’s own response, and should not blame others; “confrontation” is not in the interests of China and the United States, and even less in the interests of the world. For these rational voices in the West, we should also pay enough attention in order to fully grasp the trend of the global thought market.

Key words: think tank discourse, framework analysis, knowledge production and dissemination, the new coronavirus epidemic, info-demic