Fox’s Trish Regan and CGTN’s Liu Xin trade blows in TV debate
- Battle of the anchors ends with polite and restrained on-air discussion, which Chinese state television says could serve as model for trade talks
- Exchange provides unprecedented American platform for Beijing’s stance on trade war and economy
After an early confrontation, the highly anticipated battle of the television anchors – one from Chinese state media and the other a Fox Business host – turned into a polite and rather bland exchange.
But Liu Xin – one of the highest profile anchors on China Global Television Network (CGTN), the international arm of the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV – no doubt welcomed the unprecedented opportunity to relay Beijing’s stance on the trade war and China’s economy to an American audience.
Their dialogue also won the approval of CCTV, which argued in an editorial that the “exchange on an equal footing” could serve as a model for the ongoing trade talks between Washington and Beijing.
Fox is US President Donald Trump’s favourite network, while CCTV is a de facto mouthpiece for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Fox’s Trish Regan opened the 15-minute encounter with the show’s only real argument – over whether Liu was speaking for herself or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – which led to the two talking over each other in the most intense moments of the interview.
“Trish, I have to get it straight. I am not a member of the Communist Party of China,” Liu said after Regan introduced her as part of the CCP.