Abstract

This study investigates how geopolitical exposure shapes corporate sustainability communication. We compare the 2020 English Sustainability Reports of Huawei and Xiaomi in the context of the U.S.–China trade conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Wmatrix 7 for corpus-assisted discourse analysis, we examine macro themes, meso level communicative strategies, and micro-level linguistic features to reveal different legitimacy management approaches. Findings show Huawei adopts a governance-legitimated hybrid strategy. This strategy integrates technical capability, verifiable outcomes, and compliance. Huawei’s discourse aims to restore legitimacy and safeguard its global license to operate. In contrast, Xiaomi pursues a capability-anchored, metrics-driven approach. It emphasizes measurement, temporality, and financial discipline. Xiaomi’s communication seeks mainly to bolster investor confidence. These diverging discourses construct distinct corporate identities. Huawei presents itself as a technology steward, while Xiaomi positions itself as a results-driven, regulation-aligned firm. This study clarifies how different geopolitical exposures directly influence corporate social responsibility identity work in high-stakes contexts. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the utility of combining keyness, lexical realization, and concordance evidence.

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