President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping
Thomas Peter | Reuters
China’s state media is using propaganda to drum up support against the United States and President Donald Trump as the trade war escalates.
In a clip from state broadcaster CCTV that went viral, an anchor asks, “After 5,000 years of trials and tribulations, what kind of battle have the Chinese not been through?”
The video, which has been viewed more than 3.3 billion times, underscores how China wants to portray itself as playing the long game in the trade battle in contrast with President Trump, whose reelection next year could be at risk if voters perceive the trade war negatively.
Meanwhile, the People’s Daily, the official newspaper for China’s Communist Party, posted a photo captioned “This is ‘s attitude ” on the escalating trade war with . The poster is translated to say, “Negotiate— we can! Fight— bring it on! Bully us— YOU WISH!”
On Monday, China announced it would put retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods beginning on June 1. The move came after Washington announced last week it would increase tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Markets tanked on the news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 suffered their worst days since early January, and the Nasdaq Composite had its biggest single-day loss of the year. Stocks rose on Tuesday, regaining some of the lost ground.
President Trump said on Monday he would know in “three or four weeks” if the trade talks are successful.
Trump confirmed Monday that he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Japan in late June to continue trade talks.
– With reporting from CNBC’s Eunice Yoon.
