From FreeBeacon.com…..
Chinese state media are trumpeting New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s China-friendly comments, the latest example of the Gray Lady’s ties to the Chinese propaganda apparatus.
When Friedman, a longtime columnist for the Times, participated in a March 29 “fireside chat” with the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing think tank with close ties to the regime, the state-owned China Global Television Network (CGTN) broadcast the entire 90-minute interview. Once the interview was over, the network disseminated the interview as an example of a Western intellectual calling for improved relations between the two superpowers.
“Friedman said 1979-2019 was a golden era of global prosperity and peace with the US and China at the core, and the two countries need to find ways to work together for the sake of the world’s development,” a writeup of the interview by the state-owned China Daily read.
Chinese propagandists touted the Friedman interview across the world, including in the United States. China Daily paid to run advertorials highlighting the interview on the website of Foreign Policy, a global affairs magazine read by American foreign policy elites. Foreign Policy did not respond to a request for comment.
