As Prime Minister Modi and the External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar spoke in tough language, a rattled Beijing has tried to calm tempers. The Chinese State media, which is an extension of the Communist Party of China (CCP) is singing poems of peace after a clear warning of a “befitting reply” from India.
Prime Minister Modi said, “I want to assure the nation that the sacrifice made by our soldiers will not go in vain. India’s integrity and sovereignty are supreme for us, and no one can stop us from defending it. Nobody should have any iota of doubt about this. India wants peace. But on provocation, India will give a befitting reply.”
CCP mouthpiece, Global Times that functions as an informal Chinese Foreign Ministry office for making statements that the Foreign Ministry does not want to make in its own name, is suddenly speaking the language of Sino-India cooperation with several stories and tweets written by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and published by the mouthpiece, clearly looking to extend the olive branch.
The mouthpiece tried to invoke people-to-people relations between the two countries and tweeted a video of Indian chefs from a Shanghai restaurant. The State media outlet tweeted, “Shanghai’s Indian restaurants continue to serve customers from around the world. Multi-cultural customers enjoy their lunch in two Indian restaurants in downtown Shanghai Wednesday, with Indian chefs seen preparing delicious meals in kitchen.”
Shanghai's #Indian restaurants continue to serve customers from around the world. Multi-cultural customers enjoy their lunch in two Indian restaurants in downtown #Shanghai Wednesday, with Indian chefs seen preparing delicious meals in kitchen. pic.twitter.com/jr8xDkgewC
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 17, 2020
Another tweet pinned its hopes on a peaceful resolution of the ongoing military confrontation, and read, “China-India border conflicts will likely see a “soft landing” despite the deadly clash on Mon, as both countries have kept a clear mind to keep frictions in check, as seen in their restrained statements and that their troops did not use guns.”
#China–#India #border conflicts will likely see a "soft landing" despite the deadly clash on Mon, as both countries have kept a clear mind to keep frictions in check, as seen in their restrained statements and that their troops did not use guns: analysts https://t.co/EmpPhZjhrM
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 17, 2020
China is also trying to use the sentiment of “netizens”- the same netizens who have been kept isolated from the global internet community by China. The CCP mouthpiece tweeted, “Chinese netizens call for restraint and reason in wake of China-India border clash on Twitter.” Yes, they called for restraint on “Twitter”– a microblogging platform which is banned in the People’s Republic of China.
"I really hope friends and comrades don't provoke Indian people on Twitter or engage with any bad-faith provocations…" Chinese netizens call for restraint and reason in wake of China-India border clash on Twitter. #chinaindiaborder https://t.co/8a6nCoxeDP pic.twitter.com/aTxpB0I2KG
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 17, 2020
After a round of indirect messages looking to hint at peace, the Chinese Foreign Ministry tabloid published an editorial that directly says, “Border peace basis for healthy China-India ties.”
After a month of war commentary, the Chinese state media is now trying to talk peace and the tough message from PM Modi is the driving factor behind the sudden change in Chinese perception and propaganda.