China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, cast his country as a bulwark for peace and stability in a world thrown into chaos by the Trump administration. He warned of a return to the law of the jungle if more countries act like the United States in pursuing its own interests above all else.

中国最高外交官王毅将中国描绘为特朗普政府造成的混乱世界中一个和平与稳定的堡垒。他警告说，如果更多国家像美国一样将自身利益置于一切之上，世界将重回丛林法则。

As the Trump administration upends global trade relations and threatens to abandon alliances, China is trying to burnish its image at home and abroad and take swipes at Western dominance. “We will provide certainty to this uncertain world,” Mr. Wang told reporters in Beijing on Friday.

随着特朗普政府颠覆全球贸易关系，并威胁放弃盟友，中国正试图在国内外树立形象，并抨击西方的主导地位。“（我们）将以中国的确定性稳住不确定的世界，”王毅周五在北京对记者说。

Yet Mr. Wang’s depiction of China’s role conveniently downplayed the frictions it, too, has caused. Chinese industrial policy has flooded the world with Chinese goods and fueled massive trade imbalances. China’s air force menaces the self-governed island of Taiwan on a daily basis. Its navy has held live-fire exercises near Australia and Vietnam.

然而，王毅对中国角色的描述也刻意淡化了由其引发的摩擦。中国的产业政策让全球各地充斥着中国商品，加剧了巨大的贸易失衡。中国空军每天都在威胁自治岛屿台湾。中国海军在澳大利亚和越南附近举行了实弹演习。

On Friday, however, China pointed the finger at the United States, which has withdrawn from international groups and pacts like the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement. The Trump administration has also unsettled its allies by threatening to take Greenland and apparently taking Russia’s side in its war on Ukraine.

但在周五，中国将矛头指向了美国。美国退出了世界卫生组织和巴黎气候协定等国际组织和协议。特朗普政府还威胁要占领格陵兰岛，并在乌克兰战争中明显站在俄罗斯一边，这也让盟友们感到担忧。

“Great powers should shoulder their international obligations and fulfill their role as great powers,” Mr. Wang said. “They should not be profit-oriented, let alone bullying.”

“大国应承担起国际义务，履行好大国担当，”王毅说。“不能唯利是图，更不能恃强凌弱。”

He made no mention of China’s own muscle flexing, which has fueled tensions in the region. Chinese Coast Guard ships, for instance, enforce Beijing’s disputed claims to wide swaths of the South China Sea by sometimes ramming and swiping Philippine vessels. (Mr. Wang described China’s activity in the region as defensive and portrayed the Philippines as a Western pawn.)

他没有提及中国自己的武力炫耀，这种炫耀加剧了地区紧张局势。例如，中国海警船有时会撞击菲律宾船只，以维护北京对南中国海大片水域的主权主张。（王毅将中国在该地区的活动描述为防御性的，并将菲律宾形容为西方的棋子。）

His rhetoric, which casts China as a victim of American aggression, plays well with the domestic audience. He attributed China’s economic woes, for instance, in part to American tariffs and technology restrictions.

他将中国描绘为美国侵略行为的受害者，这种言论在国内受众中颇受欢迎。例如，他将中国经济困境部分归咎于美国的关税和技术限制。

At the same time, Mr. Wang sought to bolster confidence in China’s prospects. Beijing has tried to court foreign investment, which has declined in the face of weak growth, China’s heavy-handed response to the Covid pandemic and stricter national security laws.

与此同时，王毅还试图增强人们对中国前景的信心。北京试图吸引外资，由于经济增长乏力、中国对新冠疫情的严厉应对以及更严格的国家安全法，外国投资减少。

He vowed that the economy would rebound, saying it had shown its resilience by overcoming the 2008 global financial crisis. He said China was entering a new phase defined by “even more wonderful, high-quality development,” a reference to Beijing’s strategy of trying to power its economy with leading technology like electric vehicles.

他誓言经济会出现反弹，表示中国经济在克服2008年全球金融危机后已经展现出了韧性。他说，中国正在进入一个新阶段，即“更加精彩的高质量发展”，这指的是北京试图利用电动汽车等领先技术为经济提供动力的战略。

But the economy faces deep-rooted problems like high youth unemployment, rising government debt, and a real estate crisis that has wiped out a significant amount of household wealth and made many Chinese consumers unwilling to spend.

但中国经济面临着根深蒂固的问题，如青年高失业率、政府债务增加以及房地产危机。房地产危机已使大量家庭财富蒸发，导致许多中国消费者不愿消费。

Things could get worse if the trade spat between China and the United States continues to escalate. The Trump administration has slapped a cumulative 20 percent tariff on Chinese goods, calling it retaliation for Beijing not doing enough to stem the flow of fentanyl and migrants into the United States.

如果中美贸易争端继续升级，情况可能会变得更糟。特朗普政府对中国商品累计加征了20%的关税，称这是对北京未能采取足够措施阻止芬太尼和移民进入美国的报复。

Mr. Wang said Beijing would firmly strike back at the Trump administration if it imposed more tariffs.

王毅表示，如果特朗普政府加征更多关税，北京方面将予以坚决反击。

“If you choose to cooperate, you will achieve mutual benefit and win-win results; if you blindly exert pressure, China will definitely, resolutely counter,” Mr. Wang said.

 “如果选择合作，将实现互利共赢；如果一味施压，中国必将坚决反制，”王毅说。

Mr. Wang said the United States should “look within” for solutions to its fentanyl crisis and not blame countries like China for the problem, let alone impose tariffs on them. He also accused the Trump administration of being “two-faced” toward China — a nod to Mr. Trump’s approach of publicly offering overtures toward China’s leader, Xi Jinping, while hitting the country with trade measures.

王毅表示，美国应该从“自身”寻找解决芬太尼危机的办法，而不是将问题归咎于中国等国家，更不应对这些国家征收关税。他还指责特朗普政府用“两面人”的做法面对中国，这指的是特朗普公开向中国领导人习近平示好，同时又对中国采取贸易措施的做法。

“No country can fantasize that it can suppress and contain China while at the same time develop good relations with China,” Mr. Wang said.

“任何一个国家都不能幻想一边对华打压遏制，一边与中国发展良好关系，”王毅说。

Earlier this week, Chinese diplomats used even firmer rhetoric in responding to Mr. Trump’s tariffs. “If the U.S. has other intentions and insists on a tariff war, trade war or any other war, China will fight to the end,” Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said on Tuesday.

上周早些时候，中国外交官对特朗普的关税措施作出了更为强硬的回应。中国外交部发言人林剑周二表示：“美方如果别有所图，执意打关税战、贸易战或者别的什么战，中方将奉陪到底。”

Still, with its economy in the doldrums, China can’t afford to let the trade war spiral out of control. Even as it has pushed back, the government has urged the United States to engage with China through talks, as equals. On Thursday, China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, told reporters that he had written to the U.S. commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and the U.S. trade representative, Jamieson Greer, last month to invite them to meet.

然而，由于经济低迷，中国不能承受让贸易战失控。尽管中国政府有所反击，但还是敦促美国以平等的身份与中国进行谈判。上周四，中国商务部长王文涛告诉记者，他上个月已致函美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克和美国贸易代表贾米森·格里尔，邀请他们会面。

Beijing appears unsure of Mr. Trump’s intentions and is waiting to see if his tariffs are a bargaining tactic that eventually leads the Trump administration to request trade talks. Last month, Mr. Trump told reporters that a trade agreement with China was “possible.” That could include rehashing an unfulfilled $200 billion trade deal he struck with Mr. Xi during his first term.

北京似乎不确定特朗普的意图，正在等待看他的关税是否只是一种谈判策略，最终特朗普政府还是会提出贸易谈判的要求。特朗普上个月告诉记者，与中国达成贸易协议是“可能的”。这可能包括重新讨论他在第一任期内与习近平达成但未兑现的2000亿美元贸易协议。