China's communist government is actively supporting Joe Biden's campaign for president, so it makes sense that state-owned Chinese media outlets celebrated the announcement of Kamala Harris as his running mate and offered some insightful analysis on the significance of the pick.
"First, the agenda of race is key," wrote Zhang Jiadong in the Global Times. "Harris is blessed with multiple characteristics of ethnic minorities." Her father, for example, is "an African American from Jamaica."
The Times report included some additional analysis regarding the political implications of Harris joining the Democratic ticket. Because Biden is often regarded as a moderate, the selection of Harris offers a suitable complement, given her reputation as a "tough" prosecutor with a record of putting criminals (of all races) in jail for minor offenses:
When she was California's attorney general, Harris punished criminality ruthlessly, regardless of the suspect's racial background. As a senator, she held a key committee position and made outstanding performances in the fight against Trump. When she competed with Biden for the Democratic Party's presidential candidacy, she also showed an aggressive attitude. Harris's toughness is what Biden lacks. A mild and mature man with a young and aggressive woman constitutes a perfect match.
Because Democrats and their allies in the U.S. media remain largely undecided as to whether China is good, bad, or no different from the United States, it is unclear if the Chinese media's misogynistic use of the phrase "aggressive woman" will invite a hysterical response. Liberal activists preemptively warned all members of the media not to use such terms when describing Biden's female running mate.
The U.S. media has long enjoyed a cozy relationship with Chinese propaganda outlets. The New York Times, for example, only recently stopped publishing Chinese government-sponsored content on its website. The Times also employs Taylor Lorenz, a youth culture expert who reports almost exclusively on TikTok, a Chinese-owned social media app for sexy teens who know how to dance. Lorenz recently praised a former colleague's article that suggested the United States was no better than China, a country that is currently engaged in an ethic cleansing campaign and holds millions of Muslims in concentration camps.