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Contradictions in coverage: Chinese media & the Ukraine war
Many Chinese media outlets have “an outstanding capability to maintain a state of denial, to say things that are clearly not true” — but not all have spread propaganda about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, says Melinda Liu, Newsweek's bureau chief in Beijing.
State-run media are trying to show some of what's going on in Ukraine, and (part of) Chinese social media is showing sympathy for Ukrainians, Liu tells Ian Bremmer in a GZERO World interview. Still, much of the focus remains on Russian casualties.
As a result of different media “tonalities,” Liu explains that outlets are contradicting themselves.
Chinese coverage of the war hasn’t been consistent, and neither is China’s historical relationships with Ukraine and Russia.
Watch the GZERO World episode: China’s discontent & the Russia distraction
Xi Jinping & Vladimir Putin: No trust among autocrats
Melinda Liu describes the current relationship between authoritarian buddies Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin as a "marriage of convenience."
"They've known each other a long time, so it's not entirely awkward, but it's not entirely comfortable either. There's ... not a lot of trust," says Newsweek's Beijing bureau chief in an interview with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World. "Each of them probably know[s] that down the road, a number of years from now, the tables will be turned and one of them will be aligned with America against the other ... It's always been like that, and it always will be like that."
She compares the China/Russia/US dynamic to China's ancient tale of the Three Kingdoms meets The Godfather, with Xi and Putin as two mafia dons who right now are on good terms but may not stay as cozy in the future.
What's more, Liu believes that Xi is likely as isolated and surrounded by sycophants as Putin, which makes predicting what he'll do next very hard to predict — whatever the "sobering experience" Ukraine has so far taught China about its longtime ambitions on the South China Sea and especially Taiwan.
Watch the GZERO World episode: China’s discontent & the Russia distraction
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China's year of unpredictability
Russia's war in Ukraine has put China in an awkward spot: they condemn the invasion, but not the invader.
Still, it's not really a "limitless" partnership because Xi Jinping has many reasons to be careful about supporting Vladimir Putin, his toxic BFF.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Melinda Liu, Newsweek's veteran Beijing bureau chief, who describes the relationship between the two autocrats as a "marriage of convenience."
More broadly, she explains why Xi's biggest problem right now is not Putin, but rather COVID — more specifically China's zero-COVID policy, which has 26 million people under lockdown on Shanghai.
Also, why will it be so hard to prosecute alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine? We explain what is classified as a “war crime” under international law.
China's big problem isn’t Ukraine — it’s COVID
Everyone's talking a lot about China these days, mostly related to China's problematic position on Russia's war in Ukraine.
But China's big problem is at home with COVID, according to Melinda Liu, Beijing bureau chief for Newsweek.
The country which once boasted about beating the West on the pandemic is seeing its worst infection numbers in over two years. The streets of its largest city are empty, Liu told Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Liu says that Shanghai's lockdown is symbolic because its people always saw themselves as "the best managed, the most advanced, the most sophisticated." But now they're facing a challenge they never saw coming — and that "hits right to the soul."
Watch the GZERO World episode: China’s discontent & the Russia distraction
China’s discontent & the Russia distraction: Beijing bureau chief Melinda Liu
But according to Liu, Xi's biggest problem right now is not Putin, but China’s zero-COVID policy - which now has 26 million people under lockdown in Shanghai. China is facing a challenge they never saw coming — and that "hits right to the soul."
Russia's war in Ukraine has put China in an awkward spot: they condemn the invasion, but not the invader. Chinese coverage of the war in Ukraine hasn’t been consistent, and neither is China’s historical relationships with Ukraine and Russia. Many Chinese media outlets have “an outstanding capability to maintain a state of denial, to say things that are clearly not true” — but not all have spread propaganda about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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Podcast: China's uphill battles, from Putin to COVID: Newsweek's Melinda Liu
Listen:The relationship between Putin and Xi is a "marriage of convenience," journalistMelinda Liu tells Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast. Russia's war in Ukraine has put China in an awkward spot: they condemn the invasion, but not the invader.
Liu, who has been Newsweek's Beijing bureau chief for decades, believes that Xi is likely as isolated and surrounded by sycophants as Putin, which makes predicting what he'll do next very hard. Chinese coverage of the war hasn’t been consistent, and neither is China’s historical relationships with Ukraine and Russia.
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