8 April, 10:27
As the world watches Ukraine resist a brutal Russian invasion, another, quieter front in the war is being waged from Beijing’s propaganda offices. In a recent “analytical” article titled “How the Ukraine War Turned Into Big Business”, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency offers a textbook case of narrative warfare — one that reveals far more about Beijing’s ambitions than about Ukraine itself.
Behind its dry tone and selective citations, the article functions as an ideological missile aimed at the West. While appearing to analyze Ukraine, its true target is American hegemony — and its deeper purpose is to justify China’s own aggressive policies by delegitimizing the international support for Ukraine. This is not journalism; this is strategic disinformation.
🎭 Role Reversal and Disinformation by Design
Xinhua’s text employs a classic propaganda technique: the inversion of roles. The aggressor, Russia, is deliberately pushed out of the frame. Instead, the United States is cast as the architect of war — the real puppet master behind the bloodshed. In this warped logic, Russia becomes a passive bystander, if it exists at all.
Ukraine, meanwhile, is presented not as a sovereign nation under siege, but as a pawn — exploited by the West, drained of its resources, ruled by a puppet president, and stripped of its agency. The solidarity shown by dozens of countries is recast as exploitation. Aid becomes theft. Sovereignty becomes subservience.
💼 Recycled Anti-American Tropes with a Modern Twist
The article is steeped in anti-American clichés. U.S. defense contractors, Wall Street financiers, and energy companies are depicted as the real profiteers of the war — grotesque caricatures of capitalist greed. According to Xinhua, the war in Ukraine is not a response to unprovoked aggression, but a pretext for enriching America’s elite.
If this sounds familiar, it should. These are Soviet-era talking points, repackaged in a 21st-century context. The villains are the same; only the costumes have changed.
🐉 The Erasure of Russia and the Rise of China
Perhaps the most insidious element of the article is the near-total erasure of Russia’s role. In this narrative, the Kremlin is a shadow, not a protagonist. China subtly reframes the conflict as a battle between East and West — where Russia is merely a useful idiot, not an autonomous actor.
In doing so, Beijing positions itself as the senior partner, the strategist watching from above while Russia plays the reckless pawn. This is not only revisionist history — it’s strategic posturing for a world order where China dictates the terms of peace, war, and everything in between.
🧬 Narrative Hybrids: Truth Twisted into Lies
Xinhua’s article skillfully employs what might be called a “narrative hybrid” — blending real facts (such as military aid figures or quotes from Western politicians) with distortions that radically alter their meaning.
The technique is simple but effective: by anchoring propaganda in fragments of truth, the overall story gains an aura of plausibility. But make no mistake — this is not balanced analysis. It’s engineered conspiracy, wearing the mask of journalism.
📌 China’s Strategic Goals
So why does Beijing bother? Because every falsehood in this narrative serves a larger aim:
To discredit U.S. leadership and fragment transatlantic unity;
To demoralize Ukraine and its allies;
To justify Russia’s actions and normalize authoritarian aggression;
To lay ideological groundwork for its own future moves — especially regarding Taiwan.
By framing the U.S. as the true villain, China seeks to delegitimize the global pro-Ukraine consensus, whitewash Russia’s war crimes, and present itself as a “neutral” force of stability — even as it wages hybrid war on every front it can.
🔥 Conclusion: This Is Not Just a Narrative. It’s a Weapon.
Xinhua’s article is not a one-off. It is part of a coordinated information offensive — a campaign to redefine the moral landscape of global politics, in which democracy is recast as imperialism and authoritarianism is cloaked as peacekeeping.
In the fog of war, lies often travel farther than the truth. But they can be exposed — and must be. Because in this century, disinformation is not just a tactic. It’s a battlefield.