With Xi in U.S., China's influencers put lid on anti-West rhetoric

Beijing's immediate policy goals at odds with usual nationalist propaganda

20231116N China phones

Friendlier faces: Chinese social media has seen a drop in anti-U.S. rhetoric that coincided with President Xi Jinping's trip to San Francisco.  © Reuters

MARRIAN ZHOU, Nikkei staff writer

NEW YORK -- U.S.-China relations took a warmer turn this week as Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the APEC summit in San Francisco, and the more congenial atmosphere is also being seen on Chinese social media.

China's internet has seen an about-face from previously nationalist and anti-West influencers on Weibo, a social media platform that over the past few years has been filled with patriotic messages and constant condemnation of the U.S.

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