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Grim Image of India Prompts Debate Over China’s Swaggering Propaganda

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Even in China, where propaganda has become increasingly pugnacious, the display was jarring: A photograph of a Chinese rocket poised to blast into space juxtaposed with a cremation pyre in India, which is overwhelmed by the coronavirus. “Chinese ignition versus Indian ignition,” the title read.

The image was quickly taken down by the Communist Party-run news service that posted it. But it has lingered as a provocative example of a broader theme running through China’s state-run media. Official channels and online outlets often celebrate the country’s success in curbing coronavirus infections, while highlighting the failings of others. Other comparisons in recent months include depicting crowds of shoppers or jubilant partygoers in China versus desolate streets and anti-lockdown protests abroad.

The example contrasting China with India was posted on Saturday on Weibo, a popular social media service, by a news service of the ruling party’s powerful law-and-order commission. The post drew a backlash from internet users who called it callous, and it was taken down on the same day.

But it has kindled debate in China about attitudes toward India, and the tensions between Beijing’s nationalist rhetoric at home and its efforts to promote a humbler, more humane image abroad.

one of his online responses to Mr. Hu. China, he suggested, should be more relaxed about flexing its political muscle. “Where can an 800-pound gorilla sleep?” he wrote. “Wherever it wants to.”

Mareike Ohlberg, a senior fellow in the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin who studies Chinese propaganda. “They have an increasing number of interests internationally, but ultimately what it boils down to is that your primary target audience still lives at home.”

the government’s draconian policies in the far western region of Xinjiang and the crackdown in Hong Kong. This combative style, widely described as “wolf warrior” diplomacy, has won praise at home, but drawn anger abroad.

In France, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador to Paris in April last year after his embassy’s website wrote that French nurses had abandoned residents in nursing homes, a claim the government denied.

held a news conference late last year to demand an apology from China after Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, posted a doctored image on Twitter that depicted an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

India and China also exchanged bitter criticisms last year after their troops fought on a disputed border, leading to deaths of soldiers on both sides. But Mr. Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India quickly doused those tensions, and last week, Mr. Xi expressed condolences over India’s latest outbreak. China has recently offered to send medical support, including speeding up orders of oxygen equipment.

“wolf warrior” diplomats.

India’s image as a poorer, unruly country was sometimes used in China to “defend a more centralized and authoritarian rule,” he wrote by email. He added, “Many Chinese believe that India has joined the West to counter China’s rise in recent years.”

Under normal circumstances, the Chinese social media post would have provoked public anger in India. But many Indians are preoccupied with the crisis, said Madhurima Nundy, assistant director of the Institute of Chinese Studies in Delhi who is an expert on public health.

“There is too much happening now in India which is distressing, so the primary anger is directed towards the government” in Delhi, Dr. Nundy said. “The anger and distrust that emerged last year against China, because of Covid and compounded by border tensions, has dissipated in light of the present crisis.”

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