China says US report written with 'Cold War mentality'

China has pushed back against a US report that accused Beijing of global media "manipulation" through covert procurement of foreign media outlets, censorship, coercion and data extraction.

"We have taken note of the relevant report, but unfortunately I cannot comment on its details at the moment," Liu Pengyu, spokesman of Chinese Embassy in Washington DC, said in a statement to TRT World.

"Nonetheless, a quick look at its summary is enough to know what it is about: heightening ideological confrontation, spreading disinformation, and smearing China's domestic and foreign policies," he said.

The Chinese official said the report released by the State Department's Global Engagement Center was written with a "Cold War mentality", calling it "another tool to keep China down and buttress American hegemony."

China is strongly against such moves, he said.

The US report released on Thursday accused Beijing of "bending" the global information environment to its advantage, arguing that China was "leveraging propaganda and censorship, promoting digital authoritarianism, exploiting international organisations and bilateral partnerships, pairing co-optation and pressure, and exercising control over Chinese-language media."

"Together, these five mutually reinforcing elements enable Beijing to exert control over the narratives in the global information space through advancing false or biased pro-PRC [People's Republic of China] content and suppressing critical voices," the US report alleged, warning Beijing's efforts in information sphere could reshape the world if unchecked.

China's report on US 'media manipulation'

Quoting from China's own report "US Hegemony and Its Perils" released earlier this year, Liu said it discloses how the US has manipulated western media to make global public opinion in favour of "US interference in other countries' internal affairs."

The US government has strict censorship on American social media companies to ensure that they obey its will, he said.

The Chinese embassy spokesperson also referred to 2022 report by The Intercept, a US-based news website, that he said revealed US Central Command officials instructing Twitter's public policy team to augment the presence of 52 Arabic-language accounts on a list they sent, six of which were to be given priority.

"One of the six was dedicated to justifying US drone attacks in Yemen, such as by claiming that the attacks were precise and killed only terrorists, not civilians," Liu said, citing the report.

"Twitter put those Arabic-language accounts on a 'white list' to amplify certain messages," he added.

China stays committed to establishing and developing friendly and cooperative relations with all countries, and advocating the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, the Chinese official said.

"We urge the US to reflect on itself, stop framing China for the so-called 'information manipulation'," Liu said.

China and US are locked in a bitter competition and their ties remain tense over issues including Taiwan, fentanyl, human rights, trade and Russia's military offensive in Ukraine.

US has decided to curb some of its investments in Chinese entities involved in semiconductors, microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems.

On Friday, Biden administration named veteran diplomat Mark Lambert as its top China policy official. Lambert will lead the Office of China Coordination, also known as China House.

Over the last few months, Washington has dispatched top cabinet members to Beijing, ahead of possible meeting later this year between President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.