In the contemporary era, foreign language education plays a vital role in "telling China story well," enabling global audiences to understand China and amplifying China’s voice internationally. Despite its growing significance, current practices in foreign language teaching aimed at this goal remain exploratory, facing challenges such as limited ideological and political resources, insufficient teacher competencies in integrating ideology, and a lack of an engaging storytelling environment. Translation courses for foreign language majors, with their rich disciplinary features, offer significant potential for embedding ideological and political education. This study investigates an innovative approach to cultivating translation abilities by integrating digital storytelling within these courses. By expanding the traditional “language-centered” paradigm of translation instruction, the research explores how digital storytelling can enhance both translation competence and ideological engagement. The findings aim to provide practical strategies and theoretical insights for the ideological and political construction of translation courses, ultimately contributing to more effective foreign language education aligned with the mission of sharing China’s stories globally