Chinese state media declared the breakdown of the U.S. system ahead of major bilateral trade talks in Washington.
“Washington is a total mess,” an article in the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, asserted, claiming that “America is making China great again.” The post, written by an editor and another writer, argued that the American political system is in chaos, foreign policy is in disarray and world regard for the U.S. has plummeted.
Chinese state media claims that U.S. decline is facilitating China’s rise. “Once the world’s model, the great American meltdown has turned the U.S. into some bizarre soap opera, with characters trying to handle tragedy on a daily basis.”
The authors, one of which is American, explain that while “the U.S. remains stuck in a mudslinging political fight,” China is emerging as a global leader. “Perhaps the U.S. could learn a thing or two from the China model,” the article argues, suggesting that perhaps the U.S. would be better under an authoritarian system.
The article is propaganda which attempts to paint America in a decidedly negatively light while praising China’s central government for its achievements, ignoring the severe and crippling problems that remain in Chinese politics, economics, and society.
China released similar articles during the presidential election, with one claiming that the battle between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and renowned business tycoon Donald Trump should make people “rethink the value of democracy.”
The content of the article is largely unimportant given its intended purpose and inherent bias, but the timing is noteworthy as such a inflammatory article appeared just before the U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue. Bilateral relations have taken a sharp turn for the worse since President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in April. While talks were positive and productive, tensions have flared in the months since the meeting.
The president was initially prepared to offer China a better trade deal in exchange for a swift resolution to the North Korea problem, but Trump appears to have grown frustrated with Beijing’s hesitancy to pressure the North Korean regime, which recently tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking targets in the U.S.
There is also the $347 billion trade deficit with China, which has been known to manipulate the market in its favor through state subsidies and other questionable practices, that continues frustrating the Trump administration.
The current White House has conducted two freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea, as well as bomber overflights, blacklisted a Chinese bank for illegally cooperating with North Korea, with officials warning that more sanctions may be coming down the pipe, approved the sale of weapons to Taiwan and criticized China’s human rights record.
Now, the U.S. is considering slapping tariffs on Chinese steel, raising tensions even further.
Expert observers expect a bumpy road in the days ahead for the U.S.-China bilateral relationship. “We’re going to see more volatility in the U.S.-China relationship than we’ve seen in years,” David Dollar, a former World Bank and U.S. Treasury official who is now at the Brookings Institution, told the Associated Press.
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