Social media and citizen mobilization: How Chinese government agencies use Weibo to advance the 2030 agenda goals on sustainability

Difan Guo, Runze Qu, Yijing Wang, Jinghong Xu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This study aims to analyse how Chinese government agencies utilize social media to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Guided by public communication concepts and framing theory, we distil the frames and frame functions from 31,453 Weibo posts published by Chinese government agencies through automated content analysis and employ statistical analysis to verify the relationships between the SDGs and frame functions, as well as between frame functions and audience interactions. The findings reveal that Chinese government agencies employ five distinct frame functions in descending order of usage, namely, mobilization, consequence, notification, solution, and attribution, to disseminate information related to the SDGs. Different frame functions for public communication are selected by the government on the basis of the content and focus of various SDGs. Weibo posts that utilize notification, consequence, and mobilization frame functions tend to garner more audience interactions effectively. These results demonstrate the feasibility of public sector mobilization through social media, offering valuable insights for global governments and public sectors on how to use social media to promote the SDGs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102579
JournalPublic Relations Review
Volume51
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright: © 2025 Elsevier Inc.

Research programs

  • ESHCC M&C

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Social media and citizen mobilization: How Chinese government agencies use Weibo to advance the 2030 agenda goals on sustainability'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this