From spy balloons to chocolates: Chinese propaganda frames Xi Jinping's US pivot
Xi Jinping blamed it for challenges faced by China's economy, complaining of «all-round containment».
Then on Wednesday, U.S. and Xi agreed to open a presidential hotline, resume military-to-military communications and work to curb fentanyl production, showing tangible progress in their first face-to-face talks in a year at a summit in California.
While key issues like U.S.
sanctions on chip exports remain unresolved, Chinese state media is now striking a different tone, focusing on Xi's smile during past trips to Iowa, fireside chats with its residents, and sharing chocolates with Biden.
Clips from the summit on China's social media show the two leaders walking in gardens at the site of the talks, and chatting by Xi's official limousine, with discussion of U.S. tech curbs and tension over Taiwan featuring less prominently.
The Chinese rhetoric seeks to show Xi to a domestic audience as Biden's equal and highlights his desire to stabilise ties as China grapples with a moribund economy, analysts say.
It also sends a signal of approval to the bureaucracy and businesses on engaging with Americans.
«It reflects a very strong desire on the part of Chinese leaders to stabilise relations with the U.S. and push for more cooperation,» said Li Mingjiang, international relations scholar at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
«There's this fundamental message in the Chinese narrative that the Chinese leader is capable of managing China-U.S.
relations… he is the one who gives instructions to the U.S. and the American leadership on how to manage the bilateral ties.»
China's domestic propaganda machine worked overtime to pave the way for Xi's pivot, also evident at a dinner with U.S.
