A video created with artificial intelligence, in which Persian cats fight an arrogant white eagle, reveals a lot about how Beijing views the Iran war and the strategy of Chinese propaganda.
A video created with artificial intelligence by Chinese state television has made the rounds on the Internet. It symbolizes the war between Israel and the US against Iran, and all the main participants in it are depicted as animals. In just a few hours, the video has collected millions of likes and comments.
The video is a window into how Beijing interprets what is happening in the Middle East and how it expects the Chinese people to view this war. What is the main message that Chinese propaganda is sending to the people? The United States is an aggressive, crumbling hegemon, while China is a stable and peaceful global player.
In the video, angry Persian cats seek revenge on an arrogant white eagle who rules a desert kingdom called the "Valley of Golden Streams". The eagle forces his kingdom to trade for a scarce resource called black iron, which can only be purchased with the eagle's golden tickets. After the eagle kills the leader of the Persian cats, an asymmetric war begins, in which the eagle uses its expensive golden needles to shoot down wooden birds.
The symbolism is related to Beijing's general messages about the Iran war, says historian W. A. Figueroa of the University of Groningen. "From the very beginning, the Chinese authorities very clearly began to define the war as illegal and a threat to global stability. China's image as stable, responsible and diplomatic is a contrast to the US's portrayal as an aggressive and unpredictable power."
China is not happy with US intervention in Iran
China's state news agency "Xinhua" has published several sharp comments on the war in Iran, claiming that Washington's real goal is “to take away Iran's sovereignty" and that the war "is not about security but about the desire for hegemony". On Chinese social networks, these messages are spread in the form of short videos.
The popular influencer Jin Xiu Wu, who reaches a huge audience on Douyin, the Chinese alternative to TikTok, has published videos in which he happily explains that the US "is scared" of Iran's defense and commented that Tehran's greatest weapon is its desire for "mutual destruction".
The official account of the Chinese army on the same short video platform published videos in which it analyzes the movement of US troops in the Middle East from high-quality satellite images. The publication collected six million likes - a sign that the Chinese population is interested in American military tactics.
How Beijing is modernizing its propaganda
According to Alicia Bachulska, a China expert at the European Council on Foreign Policy, the video created with artificial intelligence by Chinese state television, in which the participants in the war are presented as animals, shows the evolution of China's propaganda. It is already being embodied in popular genres. Bachulska believes that using artificial intelligence to create videos that promote the official positions of the Chinese state makes them much more accessible and "entertaining" for the audience than, for example, television news broadcasts.
Figueroa, whose research interests include China's relations with the Middle East, believes that Beijing's narrative for this war includes strategic plans that are part of a long-term and larger plan. According to him, the Chinese government must constantly counter US claims that Beijing is a destabilizing force. "This allows them to demonstrate not only to the world but also to their own people that China is actually doing great. "China is moving forward and is stable," the expert says.
China's agenda as an alternative
According to Bachulska, the Chinese political elite views the world through the prism of the constant confrontation with the United States, which is of existential importance to them. "All developments on the global level fit into how China can use them to reinforce the narrative that the United States is a neo-imperialist power that is discredited," she explains.
And ultimately, Beijing proudly offers its geopolitical agenda as the solution to global chaos. The video featuring the "cat" and the "eagle" ends with a Chinese wisdom borrowed from martial arts: "The essence of martial arts is not to rattle weapons, but to end violence." And while the cartoon merchants circumvent the "eagle"'s trade blockades, the video also offers the ultimate alternative to the problems it has created: China's "Belt and Road" trade initiative.