The trade conflict between the United States and China not only has implications for the global economy but also presents new complexities in the realm of diplomatic communication. One of the primary means through which a country conveys its official position is diplomatic speeches delivered by the Foreign Minister. This study aims to analyze how China’s diplomatic stance is represented in the speeches of the Chinese Foreign Minister in response to the U.S.–China trade war, using a pragmatic approach. The method employed is a descriptive qualitative approach through the analysis of speech acts, implicature, and politeness strategies. The research data consist of utterances purposively selected from official speeches of the Chinese Foreign Minister related to the trade war issue. The analysis results indicate that the speeches reflect China’s diplomatic stance as defensive, persuasive, and strategic, realized through the dominance of representative and indirect directive speech acts, the use of diplomatic implicature, and the implementation of positive and negative politeness strategies. These findings confirm that diplomatic language plays a crucial role as a strategic instrument in shaping the country’s image while simultaneously managing the potential escalation of international conflicts. Keywords: Chinese Diplomacy; US–China Trade War; Pragmatics
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