China is once again trying to influence the media in Kuwait to improve its image and build closer affiliations with the Gulf region which is of higher strategic value to Beijing. However, Kuwaiti media, aware of the Chinese propaganda, is reluctant to play ball.
The Chinese Embassy in Kuwait has hired a team of experts who are approaching Kuwaiti journalists to provide ground-level feedback about China, its economic policies and its ongoing confrontation with the US on the Taiwan issue, The Singapore Post reported. They have also been tasked to interview Kuwaiti officials, local experts and scholars on a variety of issues, including China Arab Cooperation Forum Framework, China-Kuwait bilateral relations, Sino-US tensions and sentiments about China within the local intelligentsia.
Aware of the Chinese propaganda, Kuwaiti media is viewing it as ‘investigations’ rather than surveys. Many journalists were reportedly reluctant to participate in any such exercise.