This article investigates Chinese interpreters deal with negative political discourse in international forums for promoting a positive image of the country; this is achieved by strengthening positive discourse, mitigating negative discourse and the acceptance of interpreter deviations. Therefore, within the framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA), this article not only reveals the social power relations embodied in the interpretation process, but also explores how interpretation activities serve the established discourse power relations. The article uses data from videos of interpreting for a panel discussion of 2018 The New Silk Road. This paper offers a new dimension for the analysis of political discourse from the perspective of interpreting studies, and enriches the practice of interpreting by including corpus data. In addition, it encourages reflection on the interpretation of culturally loaded expressions for a better reception from the international world.