On Sunday, The Des Moines Register ran a four-page advertising supplement “paid for and prepared solely by China Daily, an official publication of the People’s Republic of China.”
Its message? That the trade war’s impact on soybean farmers in Iowa is “the fruit of a president’s folly.”
The advertisement, labeled as paid for by the “China Daily, and official publication of the People’s Republic of China” is like a 4-page tweet from the Chinese government.
It calls the trade war with Trump the “fruit of a president’s folly.” pic.twitter.com/shDAOZlC3X
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 23, 2018
China has purchased ads in U.S. newspapers before. But what to make of the four-page spread, in light of the escalating trade war?
From Axios:
This isn’t the first time the state-owned China Daily has bought ad space in a U.S. publication. It has frequently done so in The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others, but its shrewd targeting of The Des Moines Register appeals directly to America’s heartland, which data suggests has the most to lose [sic] from from an extended trade war.
We’ll discuss the significance of China’s latest trade tactic, and how the trade war is impacting farmers across the U.S.
*Show produced by Morgan Givens, text by Kathryn Fink*.
GUESTS
Shawn Donnan, Senior writer, Bloomberg; former world trade editor, Financial Times; @sdonnan
Phil Levy, Senior fellow on the global economy, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; former senior economist for trade for President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers and former member of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice’s Policy Planning Staff (2003-2006); @philipilevy
Ryan Findlay, Chief Executive Officer, the American Soybean Association; @farmit
April Hemmes, Soybean and corn farmer in Iowa; board member, United Soybean Board; @aprilhemmes
For more, visit https://the1a.org.
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