May 30, 2019

0 Message : By Julie Wernau BEIJING--Hosts from Fox Business Network and Chinese state television discussed U.S.-China trade in a prime-time broadcast, which aired live in the U.S. and on a delay in China. The 15-minute debate featured a back-and-forth between two hosts: Fox Business's Trish Regan and Liu Xin, who hosts an English-language current-affairs show for China Global Television Network, a state-run outlet aimed at overseas audiences. The Wednesday event got its start on social media. Ms. Liu accused Ms. Regan of getting her facts wrong about the trade dispute, which has soured relations between the world's largest economies and disturbed global markets. Some Chinese social media users congratulated Ms. Liu on her poise and said Ms. Regan was rude. Some Twitter users in the U.S. suggested the two women should resolve the trade dispute themselves. Others said the debate was too polite. The conversation began awkwardly when Ms. Regan introduced Ms Liu as a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Ms. Liu said she isn't a party member and doesn't speak for the CCP. "I learned English because I had American teachers," Ms. Liu said in response to Ms. Regan's questions about forced technology transfers. Ms. Liu tried to play down the role of the Chinese government in business, saying state-owned enterprises are playing "an important but increasingly smaller role" in the economy, adding that the vast majority of Chinese people work for and innovate at private companies. Getting rid of tariffs, she said, "would be a wonderful idea," but that would be complicated in a global economy. Against a scrolling list of intellectual property theft cases filed in the U.S., Ms. Liu said, "I do not deny that there are IP infringement, there are copyright issues, there are piracy and even theft of commercial secrets." "I think that's a common practice probably in every part of the world and there are companies in the United States who sue each other all the time over infringement on IP rights, and you can't say simply because these cases are happening that America is stealing or China is stealing or the Chinese people are stealing," she said. After the discussion, Ms. Regan said Ms. Liu's remarks were an admission that China steals American intellectual property. Users of Chinese social media feverishly anticipated the face-off; posts about the debate reached 1.5 billion on the Twitter-like Weibo platform as of Wednesday afternoon. Many Chinese relished the prospect that Ms. Liu, with her polished English and crisp, matter-of-fact manner, would prevail. For CGTN, and the Chinese government that backs it, the attention was a chance to galvanize the public at a moment of testy relations with Washington. It was also an opportunity to win over a global audience--and perhaps avid Fox watcher President Trump. "To have someone representing Chinese government views speak to Fox is a golden opportunity for the government," said Li Xigen, a professor at the department of media and communication at City University of Hong Kong. "Even if the government is willing to pay for such a time slot, it might not be possible to get such audience attention." A live debate, however, also carried risk for Beijing. CGTN said it originally intended to broadcast the program in China but later said it couldn't because Fox holds the copyright and Ms. Liu appeared as a guest from Beijing. It instead planned to use real-time updates. Fox Business Network said it would provide a live stream of the event online. CGTN didn't respond to a request for clarification. The program streamed with a delay in China. Fox Business shares a common owner with The Wall Street Journal. China strictly limits access to foreign broadcasts and blocks the websites of most Western news organizations, as well as social media like Twitter. The Regan-Liu debate took place ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Chinese military's brutal crackdown on the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrators, a time when censors are especially on edge. Trade talks between Beijing and Washington have all but broken off. "This is a touchy moment for the leadership," said David Bandurski, co-director at the University of Hong Kong's China Media Project. "Moments like this can go wrong. So we can brace ourselves for some very erratic and robust controls on the discussion as it unfolds in China, attempting to play up Liu Xin's perceived victories." Under President Xi Jinping, state media outlets--meaning practically all media in China--have been tasked with spreading the Communist Party's views to foreign audiences. These organizations have commissioned English-language rap videos, purchased full-page ads in American newspapers touting their viewpoints and advertised in Times Square in Manhattan. CGTN, a rebranded consolidation of the foreign-language operations of state-run TV outlet China Central Television, is trying to compete with global broadcasters like BBC and CNN. It says it reaches audiences in 170 countries and regions. "This is not just two anchors talking. On the back of the Chinese anchor, she has a full team, the Chinese ministry training her up and she has been endorsed by the Chinese government," said Bruce Lui, senior lecturer in the journalism department of Hong Kong Baptist University. "The main problem facing the Chinese government is the U.S. trade war. There is no individual decision making here. This is a party-backed decision." So far, CGTN's efforts have largely come up short in winning the hearts and minds of Western audiences, said Dr. Li of the City University of Hong Kong. It was recently forced to register its U.S. arm as a foreign agent under orders from the Justice Department as the Trump administration takes a harder line on Chinese government-led activities. Ms. Liu joined CGTN's predecessor in 1997 and began hosting her weekday opinion program, "The Point with Liu Xin," in 2017. She speaks frequently about what she calls biased Western media coverage of China. Ms. Regan joined Fox Business in 2015 as an anchor and hosts "Trish Regan Primetime." The discussion between the two women began two weeks ago when Ms. Regan said U.S. tariffs were a response to China stealing $600 billion worth of intellectual property a year. Ms. Liu said that figure was unverified and accused Ms. Regan of "economic warmongering" and using emotion instead of substance in her arguments. Ms. Regan wrote: "Hey #China State TV--let's have an HONEST debate on #trade. You accuse me of being 'emotional' and not knowing my facts--wrong! You name the time and place, and I'll be there!" To which Ms. Liu replied: "My name is not #China State TV. It's LIU Xin and please, feel free to call me Xin." "The initial reaction was that Trish is really disrespectful, not really making any real claims and that she's attacking China and Chinese people, " said Ashley Galina Dudarenok, founder of China digital-marketing agency Alarice. Ms. Liu's "responses made her a national hero. She's composed. She sticks to the point. They're really proud of her." Write to Julie Wernau at Julie.Wernau@wsj.com 0