By GT staff reporters–
Editor’s Note:
For a long time, the narratives surrounding China in some Western media outlets have been rife with misinformation, bias, and even hostility. Through their tinted lenses, it has been difficult for international readers to gain a true and comprehensive understanding of China.
However, it seems there have been some changes in this situation recently. Some Chinese netizens have observed a shift in the tone of some Western media outlets’ reporting on China, moving from a predominantly negative perspective to a more objective one. Even the BBC, a broadcaster that has faced longstanding criticism from Chinese netizens for its biased and misleading coverage, has begun to present a more balanced and positive portrayal of China.
What has prompted this change? Are Western media outlets becoming “friendlier” toward China? The Global Times has conducted an analysis using big data, engaged with AI models, and reviewed a wider array of recent Western media reports to uncover the answers.This is the second installment in the series.
Has some Western media changed?
This is a question recently fermenting on Chinese social media platforms, where many netizens noted a shift in the reporting tone in some Western media outlets. Some netizens asked: Why did some Western media begin to report on China in a more objective, positive way?
Some netizens believe this could be related to the closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), while others suggest that the shift in reporting style might be linked to changes in the Western media’s political stance, personal choices of editors, or even another new form of “praise to kill” strategy to amplify the “China threat” narrative.
However, at the very least, through their lens, this time, China’s image is no longer distorted.
Dominance of global opinion
These heated discussions online are a manifestation of Chinese people’s deep resentment to the lies, double standards, arrogance and prejudice of some Western media when it comes to reporting on China.
For a long time, Western media, benefiting from the advantage as world language, has held the upper hand in international public opinion. Leveraging this position, it has manipulated global narratives, exporting its values to the non-Western world and safeguarding the interests of its own bloc.
While claiming to uphold “objective reporting,” some of these outlets have long been engaging in “selective blindness” or “deliberate smear,” as once a country shows signs making them feel threatened, the West would use various means to impose sanctions and suppression. Manipulating international public opinion through the media is a common tactic.
Reporting on China by some Western media often shown a polarized pattern: at times, it pushes a biased narrative, while at others, it shifts to an objective storytelling.
Apart from that, some Chinese netizens also found that when some Western media report about China on topics ranging from social governance to emerging industries, even the content itself was positive, the authors would still use a tone of skepticism to “balance” their narrative by adding “but at what cost?” in the headlines. For example, “China’s economy looks to be stabilising, but at what cost?” by France 24, and “China invests in Ethiopia, but at what cost?” by The Irish Times.
Such reporting apparently confused some international readers. A recent query on the popular question-and-answer website Quora highlighted an interesting phenomenon: Why do some Americans think that China is lagging behind, while at the same time saying that China is a threat?
This question reflects how some Western media often flip-flop between “China threat” rhetoric and “China collapse” narrative, Lin Sixian, associate professor at School of International journalism and Communication, Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.
“Such tactic using ‘objective’ reports as a smokescreen aims to tout their credibility, serving short-term government goals to suppress China,” Lin said.
But whether “objective” or “biased,” the essence lies in the US strategy – using funding to manipulate public opinion, Lin further explained.
Customized media coverage
In 2023, Chinese scholars Lin Yuting and Miao Xingwei published a study titled “The Discourse Construction of China’s National Image in American Mainstream Media: A Longitudinal Study Based on Text Mining.” Analyzing data from the US-based ProQuest database, they discovered that during the early stages of US-China relations (1980-1999), the six most widely circulated American newspapers – The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Christian Science Monitor – focused primarily on diplomatic and political themes related to China.
From 2000 to 2019, as friction between the two countries intensified in areas like trade, finance, and technology, there was a noticeable increase in reporting on economic themes such as markets, companies, and officials.
Interestingly, the study notes that from 2000-2019, China was frequently portrayed as a “subject of speech” and “object of perception,” highlighting the growing focus on China’s impact on global attitudes, emotions, and perceptions. The prevalence of phrases like “overtake,” “surpass,” “outstrip,” “challenge,” and “displace / replace / match / knock US into second place” in media coverage suggests the increasing use of “China threat” as a scare tactic.
“This indicates that China’s rise has triggered anxieties in the West, leading to its perception as a formidable strategic rival with immense global influence,” the essay mentioned.
When the sense of anxieties was triggered, how did the US government and Western media treat the perceived formidable strategic rival?
In April 2021, US lawmakers introduced the Strategic Competition Act of 2021. One article of the Act states that the US government should allocate an annual amount of $300 million (a total of $1.5 billion) from the fiscal year 2022 to 2026 for the so-called “Countering Chinese Influence Fund.”
The Act also funds the so-called “civil society” and “independent media” to “raise awareness of” and “increase transparency” regarding the “negative impacts” of activities related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The true intentions behind it are crystal clear.
Specifically, the US Department of State is responsible for disbursing the funds, while those “receiving the money” include the US government’s propaganda agency the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which received $100 million to intensify its propaganda offensive against China.
The predecessor of the USAGM was the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which was responsible for managing the international broadcasting activities of US foreign propaganda. Outlets such as the VOA and Radio Free Asia (RFA), which are referred to as the mouthpieces of the US government, fall under its purview.
The Global Times found the Act also requested the US’ Assistant Secretary of State in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to “support and train journalists on investigative techniques necessary to ensure public accountability related to the BRI.”
Dubbed as a “white glove” of the US government, the USAID had been reportedly carrying out ideological infiltration and so-called “democratic reforms” in developing countries for more than half a century through foreign aid, thereby serving the geopolitical interests of the US.
In November 2023, a research lab at US-based William & Mary’s Global Research Institute named AidData released a report slandering the BRI. AidData’s website shows USAID as is its major partner and funder.
On April 11, 2021, Bloomberg China correspondent Tom Hancock exposed a set of screenshots of the bill on Twitter before its passage. He stated that “The US senate foreign relations committee is proposing millions of dollars of funding for media which reports on the ‘negative impact’ [of] Belt & Road projects.”
Under Hancock’s post, a netizen joked: “Schrodinger’s China. Monday, Wednesday, Friday China will collapse. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday China is a threat. Sunday journalists will take a rest.”
Another netizen commented: “So the US govt is outsourcing a propaganda campaign to ‘independent’ producers. In this case ‘academic and journalists’ whose job will be to create content to support a foregone conclusion – the ‘negative impact’ message decided by the client.”
In September 2024, the US Congress passed the H.R. 1157 to authorize more than $1.6 billion in five years to badmouth China, which has sparked questions and criticism both within the US and internationally.
The US government has classified China as one of the greatest obstacles to its development. This is followed by a coordinated effort between the government and media: The US government provides information with its own ideological slant and value judgments regarding China, while several Western media outlets jump on board, offering interpretations and arguments that support the negative statements of the US government and its officials toward China, Lin said.
“The US and some Western governments also intentionally guide their mainstream media to promote their negative narratives and policies concerning China,” she noted.
This dynamic becomes apparent when examining how Western media reports on China. For example, when high-ranking US officials criticize China’s expanding nuclear arsenal and demand its participation in arms control talks with Russia and the US, some Western media outlets swiftly publish articles that emphasize the perceived threat.
“Currently, government actions toward China and public perception of the country directly affect various interest groups and industries within the US. This creates fertile ground for some politicians to use the China agenda for their benefits,” Zhang Tengjun, deputy director of the Department for American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.
Zhang further noted that amid increasing political polarization, social unrest, and governance failures, American elites view China as a convenient external scapegoat. In this context, “badmouthing China” becomes a potent political tool for electoral gain.
Seeing a ‘Real China’
Students from Iowa, the US, enjoy watching a lion dance performance in Xiong’an New Area in North China’s Hebei Province on January 6, 2025. Photo: VCGEven amid the cacophony of noise and distraction, the truth cannot be silenced. More people across the globe are becoming increasingly aware of the double standards employed by some Western media.
The awakening of the Global South has also enabled an increasing number of countries to shake off the influence of Western discourse hegemony, with many media presenting a more objective understanding and recognition of China’s development achievements, as well as the cooperation between China and their own countries, Lin said.
Meanwhile, in the first installment, the Global Times also found that compared to the relatively stable numbers of neutral and positive articles, the quantity of negative coverage on China from some Western countries showed a significant decline in February.
“Seeing a real China” is becoming a new trend in the current world of public opinion.
Recently, many foreigners flocked to Chinese lifestyle app “Xiaohongshu” or RedNote and engaged in lively discussions with Chinese netizens. From discussing the phenomenon of “paying cat taxes” to sharing everyday anecdotes, Western netizens are discovering a different China: an increasingly prosperous economy and a warm, welcoming populace.
Foreign tourists enjoy themselves at Tiantan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in 1420, in Beijing. China’s tourism industry is booming and the nation has become the largest source of international tourists. More than 14 million foreign nationals entered China in the first half of 2024, according to the National Immigration Administration. Photo: VCGAmid the “China travel” frenzy, more and more foreigners come to China to explore the vast landscape firsthand. Through their lenses, a modern, futuristic China came into view: Bullet trains whizzed past rolling fields, mobile payment systems facilitated seamless transactions, robot servers delivered meals with precision, and electric vehicles zipped through bustling streets. Many foreign vloggers exclaim: “China is not what some Western media ‘portray’ it to be.”
Just as French essayist Laurent Michelon said in an interview with the Xinhua News Agency, global social media have seen the widespread portrayal of a hospitable and modern China based on travelers’ observation on the ground, shattering Western media’s “distorted filters” of China.
The public opinion war launched by the West against China will not stop. However, a China that continues to expand high-level opening-up to the outside world and strive forward will surely attract more and more insightful people in the Western media to come to realize the importance of objectively reporting on China, Lin said.
Broken ‘distorting filters’
