Public Engagement in Climate Communication on China’s Weibo: Network Structure and Information Flows

This article provides an empirical study of public engagement with climate change discourse in China by analysing how Chinese publics participate the discussion around two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports and individual users interact state elite actors pre-eminent microblogging platform Weibo. Using social network analysis methods a temporal comparison, we examine structure communication networks, direction information flows among multiple types Weibo users, changes diffusion patterns between pre- post-Paris periods. Our results show there is increasing yet constrained form alongside China’s pro-environmental transition recent years. We find expansion as shown users’ influence networks diversification frames associated discourse. However, also three restrictive interaction tendencies that limit Weibo’s potential to facilitate multi-directional open deliberation change, including decline mutually balanced dialogic interactions, lack bottom-up flows, reinforcement homophily amongst eco-insiders governmental users. These findings highlight coexistence both opportunities constraints being venue for forum new politics citizen participation China.