Trump is right that China uses its media to influence foreign opinion, but so does Washington

Hong Kong CNN — US President Donald Trump went off topic in characteristic style at the United Nations Security Council this week, accusing China of using state media to meddle in the upcoming midterm elections. On Wednesday, Xi himself extolled state media’s “contributions to the cause of the Party and the people,” and praised television workers in “promoting in-depth integration and innovation in international communication to present a true, multi-dimensional and panoramic view of China.” While there is no evidence Xi is attempting to influence US elections, Trump is absolutely correct that Beijing uses its media to shape foreign opinions of China – what he left out, however, is that Washington does as well with its own government-funded media. As Ying Zhu recounts in her book about the network, “Two Billion Eyes: the story of China Central Television,” beginning in the early 2000s, Chinese state media was encouraged to “play in the same global pond as CNN, the BBC, and other big Western media firms.” This was influenced by then-President Jiang Zemin’s call to “let China’s voice broadcast to the world,” a strategy which finally reached its zenith this year with the creation of Voice of China, a new super bureau combining three state-run networks, CCTV, China National Radio and China Radio International. “Media serve as an import bridge and bond to enhance communications and understandings between people of different countries,” he said at a Beijing press conference, adding that countries “should perceive media’s role in promoting international exchange and cooperation in an open and inclusive spirit.” Video Ad Feedback The cases that define the US free press 01:26 - Source: CNN Influence battle While the hypocrisy of China complaining about restrictions on the press is self-evident, it’s important to remember that while US lawmakers complain about foreign media influence operations, Washington continues to run several of its own. In its statement to Congress, the bureau said its coverage is “particularly strong” in regions where “global actors that do not share American values are attempting to make further inroads.” Both of the main broadcasters targeting China – RFA and VOA – are bound by their charters to be objective and are not subject to the same kinds of direct oversight exercised over Chinese state media, but this does not stop the countries which they target seeing them as malicious tools of US influence.