ABSTRACT
Although in recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies shifting their focus from management function to social power and ideologies in the field of crisis communication, little research attention has been given to the discursive construction of solidarity as a response strategy. To fill this gap, this study employs positive discourse analysis to investigate the discourse of solidarity constructed by China’s foreign ministry spokespersons in 104 remarks amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The findings show that the discourse of solidarity is formulated via three dominant discursive strategies: the use of metaphor, lexical reiteration, and indexicals and deontic modals. The discourse of solidarity constructed by the spokespersons has ideological implications for how collectivism and humanitarianism are applauded and practised in China. This study sheds light on the discursive construction of solidarity as a response strategy in promoting international cooperation and shaping a country’s national image at the time of a global health crisis.
