China Mobilizes BRICS Media in Praise of Xi

In solely his second journey overseas this 12 months, Xi Jinping attended this week’s BRICS summit in South Africa within the hope of scoring a significant political victory. The five-member group—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—introduced on the finish of the summit on Thursday that it will add six new members as of January 2024: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Xi argued that the “historic” membership growth “exhibits the dedication of BRICS international locations for unity and cooperation with the broader creating international locations.”

As Steven Erlanger, David Pierso, and Lynsey Chutel wrote for The New York Occasions, there could also be extra symbolism than substance in Xi’s “victory” on the BRICS summit: 

Nonetheless, the looks of success for China could change into essentially the most vital takeaway from the summit assembly, which in any other case did not ship on its long-stated objective of building a BRICS foreign money to rival the hegemony of the U.S. greenback. The group as a substitute inspired members to make use of native currencies in commerce.

[…] The conferences are “all about symbolism,” stated [Jim O’Neill, the former Goldman Sachs economist who coined the term BRIC in 2001], including, “It’s not clear to me that BRIC summits have executed something.” 

[…] With China’s financial system within the doldrums, with an actual property scandal, the unexplained ouster of the overseas minister and the sudden firing of high generals, Mr. Xi wanted a political win to show again residence, recommended Philippe Le Corre, a China knowledgeable with the Asia Society Coverage Institute. [Source]

Christian Shepherd at The Washington Publish described how Xi’s true motivation in pushing for an growth was to strengthen the group’s position as an alternative choice to Western-led boards:

This 12 months has seen “essentially the most open and specific push from Xi Jinping to show the BRICS right into a form of ‘anti-hegemonic’ car,” stated Andrew Small, a senior fellow on the German Marshall Fund.

Xi’s speeches have been “a blow-by-blow case towards the U.S. alliance system and U.S.-dominated monetary methods,” in addition to a pitch for constructing “different, non-Western frameworks” for creating international locations to commerce, Small stated.

[…] Small stated the intent is evident. “It’s a part of the long-term wager China has made. They assume relations with the West are going to deteriorate and the way forward for relations with the world will likely be rooted within the creating world, in order that they need to discover methods to institutionalize and entrench resilient methods,” he stated.

[…] The summit despatched a transparent message to the US and its allies that “you can not comprise or suppress China as a result of it has buddies all around the world,” stated Ming Jinwei, an impartial political commentator [who previously worked as an editor at the state-run Xinhua News Agency]. [Source]

Within the media area, BRICS cooperation is introduced as selling international growth and addressing challenges for the mutual good thing about its members. However a better examination of reports protection by Chinese language state media and their content material sharing companions reveals an intensely Chinese language-centered media coordination marketing campaign aimed toward criticizing the West and elevating Xi Jinping’s “core” management.

The BRICS Media Discussion board is a chief instance. This flagship media initiative was proposed in 2015 by China’s official state information company Xinhua, whose president, Fu Hua, is the discussion board’s govt chairman. The sixth and newest version of the discussion board was held in Johannesburg from August 18-20, underneath the theme “BRICS and Africa: Strengthening Media Dialogue for a Shared and Unbiased Future.” It gathered round 200 contributors from round 100 media shops, assume tanks, and worldwide organizations from 30 international locations, in keeping with a readout. On the opening ceremony, Fu Hua said that the aim of the discussion board was to “additional promote communication and cooperation in better depth amongst BRICS media and amongst BRICS international locations.” However he additionally used the event to unveil two analysis reviews, by Xinhua’s assume tank New China Analysis, about “Xi Jinping’s financial thought” and the CCP’s “Second Integration” concept. As a Xinhua article defined, “The report on Xi’s financial thought comprehensively expounds on the core that means, religious essence and wealthy connotations of Xi Jinping’s financial thought from philosophical, strategic and tactical dimensions in addition to with a world perspective, offering an authoritative interpretation for individuals to raised perceive Xi Jinping’s financial thought.” 

Xinhua reporter Miao Xiaojuan interviewed varied contributors within the media discussion board and produced a video montage titled: “International South In opposition to Western Media Monopoly.” The video showcases contributors’ “rising disillusionment with Western media narratives,” a sentiment that Miao stated she “heard echoed repeatedly.” One interviewee was Mahasha Rampedi, editor-in-chief of the net information outlet Africa Occasions, who shared some methods for BRICS media cooperation: “What we will do is begin with content material syndication in order that we will all profit from one another’s experience… We have to begin creating and figuring out our personal pool of knowledgeable commentators so that you just don’t have West-leaning knowledgeable commentators dominating the platforms.”

This syndication technique was on full show throughout the summit. On Monday, Xi penned an article titled “Crusing the Large Ship of China-South Africa Friendship and Cooperation Towards Higher Success” for varied South African media shops, together with The Star, Cape Occasions, The Mercury, and Impartial On-line (IOL), as China’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs said. What adopted was a spherical of mutually laudatory media protection echoing the identical speaking factors. Not solely did Xinhua cowl Xi’s article, however CGTN produced a video phase highlighting how The Star, owned by IOL, printed Xi’s article on the entrance web page of its print version, together with an enormous portrait of Xi. (Qiushi and different Chinese language state media additionally boasted about South African press protection of Xi’s article.) IOL subsequently printed an article lauding CGTN’s protection of IOL’s personal subsidiary’s protection of Xi’s article. Bringing issues full circle, the Chinese language journalist who produced the CGTN video shared IOL’s post about its article on Twitter, as did The Star.

This episode illustrates the dizzying array of content material syndication, the linkages therein, and the methods wherein such syndication leans on its “personal pool of knowledgeable commentators,” simply as Rampedi recommended. One of many African interviewees within the CGTN video was Sifiso Mahlangu, editor-in-chief of IOL and a helpful supply for pro-China BRICS media. In an article printed on Thursday by China Day by day, titled “China, S. Africa set to strengthen ties, amplifying International South voices,” Mahlangu is quoted saying: “Our historical past dictates that China has been our pal. The Chinese language individuals, the Individuals’s Republic of China, and the Communist Get together of China have been the buddies of the South African individuals.” Beforehand, Mahlangu delivered a speech at a media workshop of the Belt and Highway Information Community and gave quotes to the International Occasions about it in 2019; he chaired a 100-person assembly on China-Africa media cooperation with a sequence of Chinese language media-related organizations in 2020, and attended a seminar on “Chinese language Modernization and Its World Significance” hosted by Xinhua in 2022. One other African interviewee within the CGTN video is Austin Thomas from the Sierra Leonean outlet Awoko. Thomas beforehand wrote a constructive interview concerning the Chinese language ambassador to Sierra Leone, and used his byline to publish an article that was copied from a China Day by day article praising Xi’s position within the CCP’s twentieth Get together Congress. 

Past the CGTN video, IOL had extra reward for China throughout the summit. Among the many articles it printed on Wednesday and Thursday have been, “Chinese language President Xi preaches unity and BRICS growth throughout his speech,” “‘No strings hooked up’ to China’s assist to finish the ability disaster,” and “SA and [electricity public utility] Eskom breathe a sigh of aid as China involves the rescue.” 

Different media tales centered round Xi reverberated between shops from China and the International South. Earlier than the summit, Xi despatched a letter to a Confucius Institute in South Africa—the institute there has skilled almost 10,000 college students since its institution ten years in the past—calling for nearer people-to-people ties among the many BRICS group. The letter was coated by Chinese language state media, amplified on social media by Chinese language state actors, and coated positively by different African press shops. Furthermore, CCTV and Hu Xijin seized on the chance to share a Twitter video of Xi receiving a medal of South Africa’s highest honor from its president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

For home audiences again in China, as Phil Cunningham documented with screenshots on his China Story Substack, CCTV glorified Xi’s efficiency on the BRICS summit: 

CCTV places nice inventory into the pomp and circumstance accorded to Xi, and Xi alone, throughout this assembly with the leaders of India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Russia (in absentia) on the desk.

It arguably serves to indicate the world that Xi is first amongst equals, or simply plain first, with no shut second, however it doesn’t augur nicely for Modi, Lula and even Putin’s stand-in Lavrov, who’re downgraded diplomatically and not directly snubbed by the showering of a lot particular consideration on Xi.

[…] CCTV information exhibits the heavily-made up paramount chief giving a verbose speech, which is made longer throughout the information voice-over with using repeated photographs. It airs an an identical, seemingly attentive, response shot of host Ramaphosa 3 times, however it may possibly’t implement viewers consideration as in China. [Source]

Nevertheless, there have been some minor media gaffs. Xi’s arrival on the airport was poorly dealt with by Chinese language state media, as Cunningham famous, citing the unflattering lighting and fixed flashes that appeared within the footage. “It’s been a very long time since such subpar footage has aired on CCTV, and it’s subpar footage of Xi of all individuals.” Cunningham additionally speculated whether or not the absence of Qin Gang, identified for his meticulous consideration to element within the space of diplomatic protocol, could have been an element within the amateurish protection. And later, when Xi mysteriously missed a speech that he was scheduled to present on the primary night time of the discussion board, Overseas Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying erroneously stated on Twitter that Xi had given the speech. Lastly, there may be the awkward video footage exhibiting considered one of Xi’s aides (regarded as his translator) operating to meet up with his boss, solely to be intercepted by a safety guard who closes the doorways within the translator’s face, stopping him from following Xi into the discussion board venue. Evidently, that individual incident was not highlighted in official Chinese language or BRICS media.