A Propagandist's Dream

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum, meaning that empty spaces are quickly filled. It appears that in the world of international politics, the same is true. 

Given the grievous tariff wound the United States has inflicted, the world is quickly turning its back on that once-proud nation. And that world is looking for replacements for the once-reliable trading partner. China is trying to take full advantage of the current vacuum.

Watching the video in a knowledge vacuum, one might be tempted to think China, one of the countries hardest hit by American tariffs, is the answer to all the world's problems. The problem, of course, is that the video is propaganda, pure and simple.

Allan Woods writers:

The clip lasts less than a minute, but encompasses a broad spectrum of world events that have been, and continue to be, shaped by America’s vast and deep global footprint. The disastrous conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the rekindling of Israel’s war in Gaza. Disputes over borders and crime and security. The troubling recent cases of intimidation and suppression of political opponents and dissidents.

These past and present realities are illustrated with distinctly American images and trigger words like “violence,” “exploitation,” “backstabbing,” “greed,” and, of course, “tariffs.”

The China depicted in the propaganda bears little resemblance to reality.

 It’s a world that celebrates pro-Palestinian protesters and invests in African aid projects. It prioritizes international co-operation as well as economic development. And its population reaps the ultimate reward — wealth. It’s a world defined using words like “justice,” “equality,” “opportunity,” and “security.”

“Together,” the clip concludes, “we can make the world a better place.”

 It’s a truly creative feat that a country which has been repeatedly accused of espionage, foreign interference, human rights violations and which, last month, executed four Canadian citizens convicted on drug charges, is casting itself as the bright alternative to a darkening United States.

It brushes aside China’s continued co-operation with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine. It completely glosses over this week’s live-fire military exercises that are training for a blockade of Taiwan. 

 But the U.S.has only itself to blame for such an egregiously outrageous turn of events. 

... there is a kernel of truth to China’s criticisms of the United States — particularly now, under its current leadership. And thanks to Donald Trump, there is now a vast and growing global audience searching for an alternative to America.

One can hardly blame China for trying to take full advantage of the trading chaos Trump has inflicted on the world.

In February, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, made a broad pitch to world leaders at the Munich Security Conference .... [arguing]China’s case for “an equal and orderly multipolar world” and pledged that his country would be “a factor of certainty” fighting against the potential “chaos, conflict and confrontation” left by a retreating United States.

In more concrete terms, that could look something like the agreement earlier this week by Japan and South Korea, which are facing steep American tariffs on automobiles, to commit to deeper free-trade ties with China.

Donald Trump lives in a world of fantasy, a world where manufacturers across the world will flock to the United States to set up shop. The greater likelihood is that, in very short order, he will come to see (if not understand) that there are forces over which the U.S. has no control, effectively relegating the notions of American exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny to a mythical past.