VIENNA, Va., January 19, 2012 — Outside many of Washington D.C.’s Metro stations, ideologies collide – in the form of rusty old newspaper boxes. You’ll see free city rags rubbing shoulders with DC’s flagship paper, The Washington Post. (OK, so the flag’s flying at half-mast these days.) You’ll see The Onion a few slots over from The Blade, which is itself just a few steps from Transcendental Nonsense, or whatever that New Age publication is called.
One thing that unites these papers is their born-and-bred American roots. Recently, however, they have had to make room for a new neighbor – China’s official English-language newspaper, China Daily. (Full disclosure: I worked in Beijing for four years at a domestic weekly owned by China Daily and occasionally free-lanced for the newspaper.)
Thanks to the Chinese government’s aggressive – and expensive – push to export its culture and ideas around the world, Metro riders can now find the newspaper box tucked – for example, outside the Dunn Loring Metro station – between boxes for Politico and The Examiner.
China Daily has long been a primary source for US media looking to quote from official government pronouncements. Now, it’s a competitor. Sort of.
The paper has official editions in Europe and the US and is distributed in cities like DC, New York, and Seattle. It’s part of a multi-million dollar soft-power campaign that has also seen the expansion of other official media bureaus and the installation of cultural and linguistic centers, called Confucius Institutes, at universities around the world.
And lest you think a copy of China Daily can only be had from the mouth of a newspaper-distribution box, think again. The newspaper has an iPad app, a monthly insert in The Washington Post, and a website specially tailored for US readers.
So far, few people seem to have taken much notice of China Daily’s presence in DC, although someone did slap a “Free Tibet” sticker across the China Daily box at the Dunn Loring Metro station. (Apparently, he or she isn't a big fan of the newspaper's editorial slant.)
The Atlantic’s former China correspondent, James Fallows, is one of the few to write about the newspaper’s entry into the local media market. He joked in a November 2011 blog post titled “The Most Considerate Thing the Chinese Media Establishment Has Ever Done for Me” that China Daily is “my favorite newspaper.”
“Narrowly but consistently it keeps edging out The Onion,” he wrote. “Therefore imagine my delight in seeing this addition to the news-box lineup right outside the front door of the Atlantic's offices in Washington.”
The man responsible for ensuring these daily editions get to Fallows is Ji Tao, editor of the China Daily USA bureau. Ji has been with China Daily since 1996. In 2011, he moved to New York with the assignment to make the newspaper palatable for American readers.
“The biggest challenge is there’s still a lot of people who don’t have much knowledge about China,” he said. “Also, people still have a lot of stereotypes about China.”
Ji, who says the newspaper’s Friday circulation reaches 170,000, has a definite reader in mind when he puts together every edition – particularly, someone who already has an interest in, or a desire to learn more about, China.
And about the paper’s ties to the Communist government?
“My hope is that readers will appreciate the efforts that a faraway country [would] make to bring the newspaper here and to present to the American readers what is happening in China.”
Ji’s earnest desire to help Americans better understand China may sound sappy, but it is representative of a longing that many Chinese have to see their interest in the US reciprocated.
Like it or not, China Daily is filling a niche here in the US. Does that mean it is a worthwhile read?
For many people, no, but for those who are looking for English-language news and perspective from a distinctly Chinese angle, China Daily can be a fascinating read, propaganda and all.
Some of its coverage is no doubt a poor reflection of mass opinion in China because it is filtered through a government lens. But many stories, especially those about Chinese society, business and sports, can provide a real window into how many Chinese see themselves and their place in the world.
For example, you will find op-eds chiming in against a speedy revaluation of China’s currency, the Yuan. You’ll find profiles of international movers and shakers who have good things to say about China’s progress and development. You will find coverage of Chinese domestic topics, like the rise of microblogging and the country’s busy Lunar New Year travel period.
You’ll also find features about Chinese businesses that are operating in the US. Ji says his reporters have received compliments from their American counterparts about their business coverage. “We believe we have found a niche market in terms of that,” he said. “[As a result], …we believe we should cover more about Chinese enterprises this year.”
What you will not find in China Daily’s US edition are in-depth articles about the recent uprising in Wukan, although the newspaper did give some space to the topic.
Nor will you read about the dissident writer Yu Jie’s alleged abuse at the hands of the Chinese government, which he detailed earlier this month in a blog post.
As a result, China Daily’s self-described “window” into the Middle Kingdom doesn’t exactly provide an unobstructed view.
But for Americans who want to deepen their understanding of the worldviews their elected leaders will encounter when they negotiate with Chinese officials, picking up the China Daily could be a wise choice.
But hurry – Ji says there are plans to begin charging for the paper in the near future.
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