Trump’s Cuts to U.S. Media Prompt Praise from China’s Communist Party

BEIJING (AP) — A recent decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to cut funding at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S. government-run media outlets may be met with approval from China’s ruling Communist Party. The cuts, announced over the weekend, included placing nearly all staff at VOA on leave and halting grants to Radio Free Asia and similar organizations.

During a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson chose not to comment directly on the U.S. domestic policy changes. However, Mao Ning criticized the affected media for their reporting on China, stating, “Their bad records in reporting on China are not a secret.”

Voice of America has a Chinese-language website that offers stories often overlooked by China’s state-controlled media. Meanwhile, Radio Free Asia, which provides extensive coverage in Chinese, regularly reports on sensitive human rights issues such as the treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet. The Chinese government has vehemently denied any allegations of abuse.

According to the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, China ranks 172 out of 180 countries, underscoring the limited press freedoms within the country.

This week, the state-owned tabloid Global Times went so far as to label VOA a “dirty rag” discarded by its own government, reflecting a sentiment of relief within Chinese state media following the cuts.

Internationally, former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who ruled for nearly four decades, expressed support for Trump’s decision. He stated in a written statement, “This is a major contribution to eliminating fake news, disinformation, lies, distortions, incitement, and chaos around the world.”

Clayton Weimers, the USA executive director of the press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, articulated concerns that authoritarian regimes are the biggest beneficiaries of Trump’s reductions in funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media. He remarked, “Many of them, like China, are looking forward to filling the gap left by American leadership in media freedom with their own propaganda.”

In Washington, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the leading Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), voiced alarm over the effects of these budget cuts. He warned that diminished support for VOA and other broadcasters would significantly impair the United States’ capacity to compete against the CCP. “These media outlets provide real reporting to millions living under authoritarian regimes, countering CCP distortion,” he said, adding that this funding cut ultimately compromises safety.

As the situation unfolds, the international landscape of media freedom and the battle against authoritarian narratives hangs in the balance.