Hu Xijin | China | A cocktail of conspiracies delivered daily.

John Garnaut interviews the editor of the Global Times:

“And whatever you think about the Global Times, No. 3 by circulation, it is always entertaining.

Susan Shirk, who was responsible for China in the US State Department during the Clinton administration, says the Global Times‘ relentless conspiratorial hostility towards the United States has proved to be a leading indicator of Chinese foreign policy. ”Readers know the Global Times is close to the centre of Communist Party power and reflects the undertones of party policies,” says Shirk, who edited a new book called “Changing Media, Changing China”. ”Now these suspicions are being played out openly in Beijing’s foreign policies.”

Or, as Hu puts it: ”In the past people thought the world is friendly to us, but through us, they now understand there are criticisms.”

The cocktail of aggression and conspiracy is a profitable one. Hu says he paid tens of millions of yuan in dividends and a further Yuan 53 million in taxes last year.”