Media outlets controlled by the Chinese government have taken an apparent liking to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), posting reams of articles and video clips featuring the governor criticizing the Trump administration.
Academic research has argued that China’s state-controlled media apparatus serves to delegitimize the United States by portraying it as “poorly governed, plutocratic, racist, and a destabilizing international influence.” These are all points that various outlets associated with the Chinese state have used Newsom to make in recent months.
State-run outlets such as CGTN, Xinhua News Service, the Global Times, and the China Daily have amplified Newsom’s criticism of President Donald Trump on issues including tariffs, National Guard deployments, Greenland policy, and other areas, often implying that the U.S. is in dire straits as a result of the Trump administration. These outlets have posted about Newsom dozens of times in recent months, often portraying the governor in a positive light and the federal government more negatively.
Media outlets controlled by the Chinese Communist Party have been particularly keen to highlight Newsom’s statements on Trump’s trade policy.
“California seeks emergency halt to Trump tariffs as economic harm mounts,” one headline from CGTN reads, “California governor warns of ‘code red’ economic emergency due to high tariffs,” says another. In an op-ed published in the China Daily, the author argues that “‘Make America Great Again’ is raiding people’s wallets,” citing Newsom’s lawsuits and statements as evidence of discontent within the United States.
In each case, the Chinese outlet portrays the tariffs negatively and Newsom, who seeks to get rid of them, positively. Bringing U.S. tariffs down has been a priority of the CCP since the most recent Sino-American trade war began.
CCP-run outlets have also amplified Newsom’s criticism of European leaders for, in his telling, cooperating too much with the Trump administration.
“It’s time to buck up, it’s time to get serious and stop being complicit,” Newsom was quoted as saying in a Jan. 20 Xinhua News Service article. “It’s time to stand tall and firm, have a backbone … America’s allies and business leaders need to understand this: There’s no diplomacy with Donald Trump. Get off your knees and grow a spine.”
Driving a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies has been another long-term goal of the CCP.
China’s state-run media apparatus has a considerable presence on social media, boasting hundreds of millions of followers. While content pushed by its outlets is often accompanied by disclaimers of state backing, they retain their influence nonetheless. This social media empire has been leveraged further to amplify Newsom’s criticisms of the Trump administration.
Chinese state-backed outlets have flooded their followers’ feeds with dozens of short-form videos, increasingly the most popular form of content on social media, featuring Newsom levying criticisms against Trump.
On Jan. 22, for instance, CGTN posted a clip of Newsom comparing diplomacy with Trump to interacting with a dinosaur.
“He’s a T. Rex, you mate with him, or he devours you,” Newsom said.
In another video, Newsom, speaking directly to a CGTN reporter, said he hopes China and the U.S. will increase their “mutual respect” and that America should always have an “open hand” and not a “closed fist” when dealing with Beijing.
Newsom’s press office did not respond when asked if the governor was familiar with CGTN’s affiliation with the CCP before he spoke with the outlet.
CGTN is one of China’s most prolific state-run media outlets, operating under the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department. The outlet has faced criticism for running advertisements downplaying China’s Uyghur repression, which Republican and Democratic presidential administrations alike have characterized as a genocide.
The Washington Examiner previously reported that CGTN had hired a slew of left-of-center employees and subsequently published messaging that aligns with talking points propagated by leading Democrats.
CCP-LINKED CASH FLOODED CALIFORNIA POLITICS AS NEWSOM SOUGHT IMPROVED RELATIONS WITH CHINA
Newsom himself has faced domestic criticism for being friendly with the CCP.
The governor admitted, for instance, that he did not confront Chinese President Xi Jinping on his repression of the Uyghur people and pro-democracy advocates during a weeklong trip he took to China in October 2023, a decision that earned him censure from human rights advocates.
