{"id":72824,"date":"2022-05-26T11:37:28","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T01:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=72824"},"modified":"2022-05-26T11:37:28","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T01:37:28","slug":"chinese-and-russian-propaganda-work-in-tandem-to-blame-the-west-for-war-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinese-and-russian-propaganda-work-in-tandem-to-blame-the-west-for-war-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese and Russian propaganda work in tandem to blame the West for war in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new ASPI report<\/a> demonstrates that in the early days of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, social media posts by Chinese diplomats on US-owned platforms almost exclusively blamed the US, NATO and the West for the conflict. Chinese diplomats amplified Russian claims about US biological weapon labs in Ukraine and linked this disinformation narrative with conspiracy theories about the origins of Covid-19. Chinese state media mirrored these narratives while replicating the Kremlin\u2019s language describing the invasion as a \u2018special military operation\u2019. As Western governments collectively encouraged Silicon Valley to restrict the reach of Russia\u2019s disinformation ecosystem, China\u2019s propaganda system quickly became an alternate vehicle for the Kremlin\u2019s false narratives.<\/p>\n

The information campaigns of the People\u2019s Republic of China are designed to reinforce efforts to shape its operating environment so that the party-state\u2019s power can be consolidated and expanded, not just domestically but also globally. The PRC information campaign responding to events in Ukraine is not taking place in isolation, but instead is being tied to the party-state\u2019s key strategic interests. Understanding how, and why, this is occurring requires acknowledging deeply rooted threat perceptions that the Chinese Communist Party has long articulated and, more importantly, the strategies through which it attempts to deal with those threats.<\/p>\n

The CCP strongly believes that threats<\/a> to its political power are just as likely, if not more likely, to emerge due to the organisation of \u2018hostile forces\u2019 outside the PRC. The party is convinced that outside actors, specifically the US, actively attempt to create instability within China (including economic instability and political instability). In more recent history, \u2018colour revolutions<\/a>\u2019 and \u2018jasmine revolutions\u2019 are often cited as examples of incidents in which those alleged efforts have ultimately triggered crises. The data in ASPI\u2019s report demonstrates that the events unfolding in Ukraine are being cited as a further example justifying this threat perception.<\/p>\n

The themes that the report identifies on sanctions and \u2018anti-China\u2019 disinformation are also tied to the growing number of sanctions, tariffs and export restrictions from the US and other countries, in response to the party\u2019s policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and more broadly its policies and strategies for science and technology security and military\u2013civil fusion. The narrative reinforces the policy drivers behind a number of ongoing PRC efforts, such as the development of China\u2019s Digital Currency Electronic Payment system. Meanwhile, the themes (in apparent collusion with Russia) that we identify suggesting that the US has violated international biological weapons conventions are also being tied to Chinese attempts to deflect responsibility for the country\u2019s early mismanagement of Covid-19. The report\u2019s data suggests that, in terms of its international-facing propaganda, the Russia\u2013Ukraine conflict offers the CCP an opportunity to reassert enduring preoccupations that it perceives as fundamental to its political security.<\/p>\n

Chinese diplomats\u2019 persistent criticism of security blocs, NATO expansionism and the US military-industrial complex might equally apply to security relationships in the Indo-Pacific such as AUKUS and the Quad. ASPI has already identified pro-CCP social media networks targeting <\/a>the Quad and the evolving security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region.<\/p>\n

Our sample of data was taken before the Silicon Valley platforms reassessed their measures<\/a> to limit the reach of Russian disinformation (including via Chinese state media). In the early stage of the conflict, tweets about Ukraine by Chinese diplomats performed better than unrelated content, particularly when the content attacked or blamed the West. PRC foreign ministry spokespeople continue to flirt with fringe alternative media outlets<\/a> to bridge into Western political discourse framed around anti-imperialism, for example by amplifying claims<\/a> associating NATO and the Ukrainian government with neo-Nazis.<\/p>\n

ASPI found that PRC diplomats and state media calibrated their messaging differently for different regions of the world. This investment in tailored and multi-lingual influence reflects the CCP\u2019s strategy of targeting regions\u2014particularly Africa, South America and Southeast Asia\u2014that have rapidly emerging economies, and often Western colonial histories, for specific attention. Beijing\u2019s alignment with the Kremlin\u2019s propaganda demonstrates how the CCP seeks opportunity from crisis, mobilising in response to perceived threats and using contemporary events as vehicles for the projection of its political power.<\/p>\n

For some, this situation has become untenable. Professor and former US diplomat David L. Sloss suggests<\/a> that the time has come to ban both Russian and Chinese state media from US social media platforms. This position may sound extreme to some given how fundamental freedom of speech is to democracy. Yet authoritarian regimes are exploiting democratic openness in their political warfare campaigns and calibrated strategic responses must be taken to shift this calculus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new ASPI report demonstrates that in the early days of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, social media posts by Chinese diplomats on US-owned platforms almost exclusively blamed the US, NATO and the West for the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1535,"featured_media":72826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1383,52,163,224,714],"class_list":["post-72824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-ccp","tag-china","tag-russia","tag-social-media","tag-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChinese and Russian propaganda work in tandem to blame the West for war in Ukraine | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinese-and-russian-propaganda-work-in-tandem-to-blame-the-west-for-war-in-ukraine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese and Russian propaganda work in tandem to blame the West for war in Ukraine | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new ASPI report demonstrates that in the early days of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, social media posts by Chinese diplomats on US-owned platforms almost exclusively blamed the US, NATO and the West for the ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinese-and-russian-propaganda-work-in-tandem-to-blame-the-west-for-war-in-ukraine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-26T01:37:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-969750964.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ingram Niblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ingram Niblock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinese-and-russian-propaganda-work-in-tandem-to-blame-the-west-for-war-in-ukraine\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-969750964.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-969750964.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682,\"caption\":\"TOPSHOT - Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) exchange documents during a signing ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 8, 2018. - Putin arrived on June 8 for a state visit to China and will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Leaders Summit in the eastern port city of Qingdao on June 9-10. 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