Chinese state propaganda channels have a character all of their own. At first the often odd, sometimes shrill tone they adopt can be offputting. But prolonged acquaintance reveals a welcome aspect: once you crack the code, what they’re actually trying to say is not that tricky. And absent the artifice, the message can become amusing.
Witness the sore reaction to Li Ka-shing yanking his capital from China. Or, the boastful manner in which the Xi Jinping trip to the United States is being portrayed. The latter topic is the subject of this week’s newsletter.
Following are the choicest excerpts about the trip from the main Party propaganda outlets of People’s Daily Online, China Central Television, Global Times, Xinhua, and China National Radio. Grouped into sections, we translate verbatim what Party media is saying about the meaning of the trip. (China pedants can find original marked up comments here.) Take a deep breath, because it’s mostly breathless.
Americans Love Xi Jinping!
“America loves self-confident, frank politicians. Xi Jinping is not only self-confident and frank, but he speaks in an extremely down-to-earth manner. He doesn’t read a script in a wooden manner, but often uses vivid and simple language to express practical and profound principles. Americans, including Obama and the ordinary masses, appreciate this in the extreme.” — People’s Daily
“Americans are so enthusiastic about this visit of Uncle Xi primarily because they endorse Uncle Xi’s leadership demeanor, because they have a correct understanding of China, they’re modest and open-minded, and the Chinese style of deriving pleasure from helping others has been spread around the world through the new media.” — China National Radio
“Uncle Xi’s visit to America has not only touched Americans, but has touched the entire world. Everyone is hopeful about this historic moment.” — China National Radio
China and America Must Always Work Together, the World Depends on It!
“China and America are the two most important countries in the world. They have the primary responsibility for creating the global order… Objectively speaking, only China and America are capable of effectively developing global economic governance. Thus, every country in the world hopes in extreme that China and America can cooperate in international economic leadership.” — People’s Daily Online
“Obama put forward the rebalance to Asia and hoped it would become his foreign policy heritage, but has never escaped the narrow path of trying to balance against China and its neighbouring countries. The road of building strategic trust between China and America is long.” — People’s Daily Online
