reuters.com
www.reuters.com

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing cannot accept any country acting as the “world’s judge” after the United States captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

The world’s second-largest economy has provided Venezuela with an economic lifeline since the U.S. and its allies ramped up sanctions in 2017, purchasing roughly $1.6 billion worth of goods in 2024, the most recent full-year data available.

Almost half of China’s purchases were crude oil, customs data shows, while its state-owned oil giants had invested around $4.6 billion in Venezuela by 2018, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank, which tracks Chinese overseas corporate investment.

  • BoycottTwitter@lemmy.zipEnglish
    16·
    3 days ago

    You’re getting downvotes but it might be because some people are surprised that Xi Jingping would support Trump but I’ve gathered some evidence it might be true.

    For starters we look at TikTok. Regarding TikTok this article is the most damning: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/how-tiktok-courted-conservatives-before-trumps-win (archive/non-paywall: https://archive.is/TUjo9)

    The top leaders pushed through content moderation changes that made TikTok more accepting of some conservative views on the fairness of elections or transgender rights, including by updating policies on banned content or enforcing them differently.

    I hate the way they worded that. What they really mean is allowing the big lie (false claims the 2020 election was rigged) and transphobia.

    See: https://www.theverge.com/politics/656717/trump-tiktok-ban-maga-influencers (archive link: https://archive.is/DMOLf)

    MAGA influencers also view TikTok as a relatively reliable platform to publish pro-Trump content without fear that their accounts will get demonetized, restricted, or worse, deactivated.

    Also see: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maga-republicans-defend-tiktok-conservative-platform-fate-hangs-balance-supreme-court (archive link: https://archive.is/RGBC8)

    “Trump won the election because he listened to first-time voters like myself and joined TikTok to get his message to us directly,” RNC Youth Advisory Council Chair Brilyn Hollyhand told Fox News Digital of the impending ban.

    Also see: https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-courts-john-bolton-politics-donald-trump-8a7ff9c4e60678aafcd7f430e49196ea

    President Donald Trump “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects, according to a scathing new book by former Trump adviser John Bolton that accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.

    Then we cannot forget about all the Chinese bots who post online. “China is pushing divisive political messages online using fake U.S. voters” https://www.npr.org/2024/09/03/nx-s1-5096151/china-tiktok-x-fake-voters-influence-campaign Says it very clearly. They used the same strategy Russia did.

    • FiniteBanjo@feddit.onlineEnglish
      144·
      3 days ago

      Also, TikTok voluntarily went offline right before the ban’s due date, but then went right back online thanking Donald Trump 14 hours later without Trump having to do anything. I’ve also seen how they treat Donald Trump on the other psyops like Hexbear, he was the favored candidate by far for Tankies.

      • BoycottTwitter@lemmy.zipEnglish
        172·
        3 days ago

        I think I know what you’re talking about! The people who pretend to be “far-left”, socialist or communist but for some bizarre reason they keep supporting Russia.

        I had an experience with one of those people recently. I asked one of those people point blank do you support Trump and they completely dogged the question. Clicking on profiles of these types of people I notice they also never denounce Trump or Republicans or do so very rarely.

        I actually deeply regretfully used to be somewhat of a Trump supporter so now I’m very sensitive to people who may be secretly Trump supporters or those who have similar characteristics. Those “tankie” type people really peg my MAGA-meter. It’s almost like when someone has an abusive ex they tend to notice certain things more afterwards (I wish I could word this sentence better but hopefully people can understand).

        Ultimately what makes tankies and MAGA similar even if they are not secretly supporting Trump or a bot is belief persistence when there is contrary and reputable evidence and belief in conspiracy theories. Part of what helped me escape MAGA is media literacy and realizing that if someone presents reputable information that contradicts what I believe, I should change my beliefs not plug my ears and regurgitate conspiracy theories based on some random comment like a screenshot of a screenshot of a 4chan post or just saying nonsense like “I don’t trust the MSM”.