CONSTRUCTING POWER AND RESISTANCE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF VICTOR GAO’S RHETORIC IN THE U.S.–CHINA TARIFF WAR

Abstrak

This study aims to analyze how power and resistance are constructed through Victor Gao's public discourse in the context of the tariff war between the United States and China. Victor Gao, an academic and political commentator who frequently appears in international media, plays a significant role in voicing China's perspective on the global stage. Using Teun A. Van Dijk's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach, this study examines Gao's discourse in terms of text structure, social cognition, and social context. The method used is a descriptive qualitative method with an analysis of Victor Gao's debate transcripts broadcast in international media. The analysis results show a total of 36 primary data items classified into each CDA dimension. In the text structure, 2 data items were found at the macrostructure level, 12 data items at the superstructure level, and 22 data of microstructure level. In the social cognition and social context dimensions there was indicating access to discourse and power. Overall, Victor Gao consistently frames China as a rational actor and a supporter of free trade, while the United States is portrayed as a dominant force that undermines the global order. Linguistic strategies such as repetition, metaphor, and ideological diction are used to construct an image of China as oppressed yet empowered. This study concludes that through discourse, non-state actors like Gao can reproduce national ideology and form resistance to Western domination in the realm of international discourse.