Research on the Communication Strategy of Sino-US Trade War from the Perspective of Framing Theory——Take People’s Daily and The New York Times as Examples

Abstract

The first-world economy, the United States, and the second economy, China (now first to some), by some metrics are at loggerheads for a long time. To some extent, the trigger is the Sino-US trade war provoked by former U.S. President Donald Trump in March 2018. Due to the profound differences in a political position, cultural concept, and communication habits, the two-state media of China and the U.S.: People's Daily and The New York Times, which play an important role in affecting international public opinion, show different orientations in choosing news materials, reporting strategies and media framework. To analyze these underlying causes, the author compares the selected editorials from the two-state media based on the framing theory in four dimensions — agency, identification, categorization, and generalization, to explore the different report frameworks, framework strategies, and the contributing factors. Therefore, the paper could provide some theoretical guidance and strategic suggestions for the international communication of China's media.