fredag 26. juni 2020

China loves John Bolton's book for embarrassing Trump, but not the parts about Xi Jinping

It's safe to say former White House national security adviser John Bolton's book has made a splash. With revelations about US President Donald Trump's strategy in Korea, his response to the coronavirus, and his dealings with China, Bolton's White House memoir has been dominating headlines around the world since advance copies began circulating this month. 

This has also been true in China, where state media has been happy to play up many details of Bolton's exposé. However, not every part of "The Room Where It Happened" is considered so palatable behind the Great Firewall. 

When it comes to Bolton's allegations that Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for reelection help and voiced approval for mass detention camps in the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang, Chinese media has largely stayed quiet. The country's diplomats have been equally tight-lipped, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian only commenting to say that China had "no intention" to interfere in US elections and that the Trump administration "clearly understands" Beijing's position on Xinjiang.