Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

Global Times (Opinion)

Chinese state-controlled

Owned byPeople's Daily Press, a publishing house directly controlled by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
FundingState-funded through the Chinese Communist Party via People's Daily Press; supplemented by advertising revenue
On the administrationmixed

Background

Global Times was founded in 1993 as a supplement to People's Daily, the CCP's flagship newspaper, initially covering international news for a Chinese domestic audience. Its English-language edition launched in 2009, aimed at reaching foreign readers and projecting Chinese perspectives abroad. Long-serving editor-in-chief Hu Xijin (2005–2021) shaped the publication's voice as unusually combative by Chinese state media standards, producing headlines and opinion pieces that Western observers described as hawkish and nationalistic. Hu invited international controversy with inflammatory comparisons—calling Australia 'chewing gum stuck on the sole of China's shoes' and the UK 'a bitch asking for a beating.' In 2020, the U.S. State Department designated Global Times as a 'foreign mission,' meaning it is substantially owned or effectively controlled by the Chinese government. Hu retired in December 2021 under circumstances described by press observers as ambiguous. The outlet has continued to serve as a vehicle for official Chinese government messaging on foreign policy, territorial disputes, and trade—frequently framing U.S. actions as provocations while defending Beijing's positions. On Trump's second term, Global Times has praised administration steps that undercut U.S. international broadcasting while sharply criticizing tariffs on Chinese goods as counterproductive to both economies.

Sources

  1. Global Times – Wikipedia
  2. Inside the Global Times, China's hawkish, belligerent state tabloid – Quartz
  3. Global Times (China) – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  4. China's Global Times praises Trump funding cuts to Voice of America, Radio Free Asia – South China Morning Post
  5. The truth behind Global Times: China's state-backed media outlet – WION
  6. Designation of Additional Chinese Media Entities as Foreign Missions – U.S. State Department
  7. Hu Xijin, top editor at Global Times, retires – CNN Business
  8. The Global Times (Huanqiu shibao) in Retrospect – The China Story
  9. People's Daily Press – Wikipedia

Profile compiled 2026-07-31; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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