Hu's Visit to the U.S. -- Reporter's Journal: As Chinese Media Trumpet Status, Some Shrug --- State News Portrays Meeting of Twin 'Heavyweights,' Calls for Respect; 'I Don't Think China Is That Powerful'
BEIJING -- From the ads on Times Square to saturation coverage in China's official media, everything about President Hu Jintao's U.S. visit has been designed to show that China has arrived as a major world power and its leader deserves to be treated as an equal.</br></br>China's state-controlled media was dominated Thursday by images of Mr. Hu and President Barack Obama, side by side. The official Xinhua news agency characterized China and the U.S. as "two heavyweight players on the international stage [that] have seen their national interests increasingly interwoven."</br></br>"The rest of the world has been paying close attention to every word and gesture," the China Daily added, "given the importance of the two countries to the global economic and political landscape."</br></br>But even as many in the U.S. appear convinced China is set to overtake it economically or militarily, China's state media called for deeper relations based on mutual respect. The bi-weekly World News Journal said the U.S. should adjust its mentality of "deep suspicion about China." Other publications called for the end of a "zero-sum game" mentality.</br></br>Some Chinese appeared uncomfortable with their country's newly feted status or were nonplussed by the coverage. Several online comments expressed skepticism about China's portrayal as an emerging superpower. "Looking at those high-profile reports on Hu's visit by major media, and with TV all about how harmonious and wonderful this China-U.S. relationship is, it's just way too phoney," wrote user Mahua-apsaras on the Sina micro-blogging service.