Beijing Biden: Chinese State Propaganda Giddy After Inauguration

• Chinese state-run media outlets appeared to celebrate the beginning of President Joe Biden’s presidency in a series of articles and political cartoons.
• “[Biden] used his inaugural speech to address domestic challenges in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s bellicose and at times borderline racist rhetoric against China,” an article in the Global Times said.
• The Global Times also published a political cartoon titled “White House cleaner” that depicted Biden arriving to a disheveled Oval Office with a mop and bucket full of water.

Media outlets controlled by the Chinese Communist Party appeared to celebrate the beginning of President Joe Biden’s presidency in a series of articles and political cartoons.

The Global Times, People’s Daily and Chinese Central Television (CCTV), all Chinese news outlets designated as “foreign missions” by the State Department, appeared celebratory as President Joe Biden was sworn into office. A Global Times article cheered the departure of President Donald Trump’s “toxic rhetoric” as Biden took office.

“Joe Biden was officially sworn in as the 46th President of the US during a relatively empty event heavily guarded by thousands of soldiers with weapons of war, and used his inaugural speech to address domestic challenges in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s bellicose and at times borderline racist rhetoric against China during his farewell speech,” the Global Times article published Wednesday said.

The Global Times article also quoted Lü Xiang of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, China who said the anti-China rhetoric of Biden appointees to lead the State, Treasury and Defense Departments wouldn’t be matched by their actions in office.

“So the remarks they made are not entirely equal to the policies they would make after they take the office,” Xiang told The Global Times. “They will and must make adjustments to Trump’s policies.”

The Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times published this cartoon and this article today. They seem excited. pic.twitter.com/HQIcsCHhRa

— Thomas Catenacci (@ThomasCatenacci) January 20, 2021

The Global Times also published a political cartoon titled “White House cleaner” that depicted Biden arriving at a disheveled Oval Office with a mop and bucket full of water. On the floor, a map of the world is seen with the word “sanctions” written multiple times and on the wall, “America First” is written in red ink.

CCTV published an article Wednesday about how China welcomed Biden’s decision to re-enter the Paris Climate Accords.

“China welcomes the expected return of the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change,” the article said.

Meanwhile, the People’s Daily published an editorial celebrating the departure of former Sec. of State Mike Pompeo. The piece said Pompeo, who was highly critical of the Chinese government, will be known for his “ego, lies and little desire to improve the state of the world.”

“Because of Pompeo and his likes, America’s global image is now in tatters, with Pompeo’s final acts of madness another footnote to its fiasco,” the editorial said.

In the final days of his tenure leading the State Department, Pompeo released a memorandum declaring that China is committing genocide. Days before, the State Department released a report saying that it had reviewed evidence the coronavirus escaped from a Chinese lab.

In 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued new rules ordering news outlets to serve the Chinese Communist Party, removing their independence, according to an article in China Daily, another state-run news outlet praising the decision.