Chinese state media are refining the narrative of the Middle East conflict for domestic audiences through an AI-generated video that went viral last week. Produced by CCTV, the video features Persian cats and bald eagles symbolizing the US-Israel war with Iran, amassing nearly a million likes within hours and flooding comment sections. This provides insight into how Beijing interprets the Iran conflict to shape public opinion, with the core message aligning with a common narrative that portrays the US as an aggressive, declining hegemon, while China is depicted as a steady, peaceful rising power.
The viral video shows aggrieved "Persian cats" seeking vengeance against an arrogant "white eagle" that dominates a desert realm called the "golden flow valley." The eagle forces the realm to trade scarce resources, termed "black iron essence," exclusively using "white eagle gold tickets." After the eagle assassinates the Persian cat leader, an asymmetrical war of attrition ensues, where the eagle expends expensive "anti-air golden needles" to shoot down cheap "wooden birds." This thinly veiled symbolism is rooted in Beijing's political messaging since the war began and is amplified across China's media apparatus. W.A. Figueroa, an assistant professor of history and international relations at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, noted that Chinese officials have allegedly been clear in describing the war as both illegal and a threat to global stability.
On domestic social media, these grand geopolitical themes are chopped into highly digestible, nationalistic snippets. Influencers like "Jing Si You Wo" on the Chinese short-video app Douyin reach massive audiences, with recent videos gleefully declaring that the US has "chickened out" in the face of Iranian resolve and that Iran's greatest weapon is the sheer willpower for "mutual destruction." The Chinese military's official Douyin account also published a video using high-definition satellite imagery to rigorously analyze US deployments in the Gulf, drawing over 6 million likes, potentially indicating eagerness among China's population to study US military tactics.
Alicja Bachulska, a China analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told DW that CCTV's AI video highlights an evolution in Chinese state propaganda by filtering it through the popular fantasy martial arts genre known as "Wuxia." Bachulska observed that utilizing artificial intelligence makes official narratives "much more palatable" and "fun" for local audiences compared to dry TV coverage. By cleverly drawing on deep-rooted nostalgia for 1980s Hong Kong kung fu cinema tropes, state media seamlessly embeds geopolitical talking points into popular culture.
Figueroa, whose research includes contemporary China-Middle East ties, said the political calculations behind China's narrative on the conflict are part of a broader, long-term strategy. He claimed that the Chinese government must constantly counter Washington's accusations that China is a destabilizing force, allowing them to display to their own people that China is doing well and is a stabilizing force. The video concludes with Chinese martial arts wisdom: "The ultimate essence of martial arts lies not in wielding weapons, but in stopping violence." As savvy merchants bypass the white eagle's trade blockades, the video includes a veiled strategic promotion of China's Belt and Road Initiative as the ultimate path to escaping US economic hegemony.
Bachulska added that Chinese political elites view the world through the prism of an existential rivalry, filtering all global developments to strengthen the narrative that the US is a neo-imperial power and a discredited actor. Ultimately, Beijing proudly offers its own geopolitical solution to the global chaos it eagerly highlights, using advanced propaganda techniques to reinforce its position amid ongoing tensions with the US regime and its allies.
Source: www.dw.com