American democracy is failing in the face of mounting economic, political and social problems, according to a series of commentaries attacking the U.S. system published by Chinese state media on Tuesday.
Timed to run as millions of Americans headed to the polls on Election Day, the official propaganda outlet Xinhua said ran essays on eight problems in the U.S. election cycle. The essays argue that these problems reveal the “truth about American democracy,” including high inflation, poor health care, increased violent crime, a substandard education system, restrictions on abortion rights, energy fracking, high housing costs and the challenge of immigration.
“What solutions do Democratic and Republican candidates propose to address these urgent challenges? Why have their approaches failed to alleviate the worries of American voters?” the news agency stated in the commentaries that analysts say is the closest Beijing has come to interfering in the U.S. election.
U.S. intelligence analysts said this week that both Russia and Iran are engaged in election interference — Moscow in support of former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and Tehran preferring Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris.
In May, the FBI said China was following methods used by Russia to influence the election through creation of the fake social media accounts that “push narratives and sow divisiveness.”
U.S. officials said this week that Chinese hackers targeted data from cellphones used by Mr. Trump and running mate Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as part of an intelligence operation. Others said to have been targeted in the cellphone hacking include Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas.
But American intelligence officials have also concluded that Chinese election influence has been less aggressive than efforts by Russia and Iran. Beijing, however, has sought to sow social discord online by mimicking students who staged sometimes confrontational protests on U.S. campuses last summer over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement that the hackers were “actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.”
China’s government has sought to avoid directly commenting on the U.S. election or Beijing’s preferred candidate.
However, the state media criticism in the commentaries reflects what analysts say is the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to critique U.S. democracy as part of a policy of promoting its own Marxist ideology, dubbed socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The articles quote U.S. polling data and suggest the highlighted issues reveal the troubled state of American democracy struggling with “current political turmoil.”
The Xinhua commentary on crime states that violent crime in the U.S. is increasing as a result of “gun violence” and school shootings. It said American civilians own more than 400 million guns, more than the U.S. population and guns should be restricted.
“Deep partisan divisions and influential lobbying groups, such as the National Rifle Association, have routinely stalled gun control laws in Congress,” Xinhua said.
“Even political violence is on the rise, with presidential candidates becoming targets,” the report said, noting Mr. Trump’s escape from two assassination attempts and a suspect accused of shooting at a Harris-Walz campaign office in Arizona.
Miles Yu, a former State Department policymaker, compared China’s attacks on U.S. democracy to Adolf Hitler accusing President Franklin D. Roosevelt of being antisemitic.
“China is the most undemocratic nation in the world, the enemy of freedom, and destroyer of democracy,” said Mr. Yu, now with the China Center at the Hudson Institute.
Mr. Yu said the phone hacking of Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance was “a very serious crime” that could be used by Beijing to influence voters.
Another Xinhua commentary said political polarization has undermined U.S. education policy, with Democrats pushing diversity based on race and sex and Republicans favoring a greater focus on math and science while opposing political correctness.
“Therefore, students become the most unfortunate casualties, finding themselves in classrooms where educational priorities swing wildly depending on who is in power, rather than based on pedagogical needs or students’ intellectual growth,” the report said.
China expert Victor Mair also dismissed the official Chinese criticism of democracy.
“If China had only one-tenth of the democracy that the U.S. has, it would be so much more prosperous and progressive than it now is,” said Mr. Mair, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “And less corrupt.”
Mr. Yu said that all the issues Xinhua focused on can and will be solved through the democratic process.
“China’s system is not only imperfect. It’s a threat to freedom and democracy everywhere,” he said.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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