High-profile Chinese newspaper chief and US critic Hu Xijin retires
- Hu rode a wave of nationalism to make Global Times China’s most popular government-backed newspaper
- He will stay on as commentator for the Communist Party-backed publication
Hu Xijin, the firebrand editor-in-chief of nationalist tabloid Global Times, has retired from the role at the Communist Party-backed newspaper but will continue as a commentator.
“I’m approaching 62. It’s time for retirement,” Hu posted on the Twitter-like platform Weibo on Thursday. “I have gone through the retirement formalities and no longer serve as the editor-in-chief of the Global Times.”
Hu, China’s most vocal propagandists, is the editor-in-chief of both Chinese-language and English-language editions, owned by People’s Daily, the party’s mouthpiece. He is tipped to be replaced by Wu Qimin, international section deputy director of People’s Daily.
“I’ll continue to contribute to the party’s journalism and publicity work as a special commentator of the Global Times. Thank you for your support,” Hu wrote in the post.
Hu took the job in 2005 and is one of China’s longest-serving newspaper editors. He has 24 million followers on Weibo and more than 459,000 followers on Twitter, riding the wave of nationalism in China since the country’s trade war with the United States took off in 2018.