State media plays down Abe’s visit, plays up reform

Xinhua News Agency features a few stories about Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Beijing on its English and Chinese websites, but the top headlines on all central state media websites today are versions of this Xinhua story:

• “Xi stresses deepening reform, opening-up in new era” (English, Chinese).
• On the surface, it sounds like a full-throated endorsement of private enterprise, even more so when the Xinhua pabulum is translated into real English as in this South China Morning Post article: China’s reform and opening up can keep delivering ‘miracles,’ says Xi Jinping.
• See also “The markets and the advance of the state” below.

The Global Times Chinese edition faithfully republished Xinhua’s story on Xi and reform but also prominently features:

• A short article — three lines of Chinese! — titled: “Ministry of Defense — We’re in control of U.S. ships in the Taiwan Strait.”
• “Is the driving force of improvement in China-Japan ties mainly from the pressure caused by the trade war launched by Washington?” asks the Global Times. “Of course not!” is the answer: Internal factor promotes China-Japan ties (or here in Chinese).