The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
Notice: All coverage related to outcomes of the latest XT talks [between Xi and Trump at the G20 in Argentina] on the trade war will be issued by Xinhua News Agency. All platforms are required to strengthen inspection of relevant video information. Only publish standard source content, and do not modify the title. Without exception, do not promote content related to coverage by self-media. Especially with relevant content that is maliciously hyped, promptly delete content, and deal with relevant accounts.
Additionally: Especially with malicious hyping of topics related to the “viewpoint of accepting humiliation,” promptly delete content, and deal with relevant accounts. (December 2, 2018) [Chinese]
Over dinner at the G20 summit on December 1, the U.S. and China reached a 90-day truce in the trade war, agreeing that no new tariffs would be imposed after January 1, if there were further breakthroughs in talks within this 90-day timeframe. This will conditionally keep the tariff rate on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports at 10% rather than raising it to 25%. Statements released by both sides after the talks demonstrated that the Chinese and U.S. governments may not be in total agreement about what they accomplished:
Confused about what exactly Xi and Trump promised each other yesterday?
Here's a side-by-side comparison of the readouts from both sides. The U.S. on the left, China on the righthttps://t.co/5N7aISEdew@LucilleLiu @JDMayger @Jeffrey_Black pic.twitter.com/kVVCB8wiqI
— Peter Martin (@PeterMartin_PCM) December 2, 2018
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth
