Thread by @bfcarlson

In 2017, the World Economic Forum put Xi Jinping on a pedestal as the champion of economic order.

As a China economics correspondent, it was my job to cover it.

I tried to change the script, and was overruled. That's the day I decided to leave journalism.

The story:

Trump was about to take office.

Elites were reeling from his shock win.

His vows to put America's interests first fueled anxiety that the global trade order was under assault.

They needed a champion.

Enter China. /2

In January 2017, days before Trump's inauguration, WEF began in Davos.

I was an economics correspondent in China.

China’s president Xi Jinping was a keynote speaker.

It was my job to watch the speech and cover him. /3

If you’ve ever wondered how breaking news alerts appear so fast, here’s how.

You pre-write the story.

Before Xi said a word, I had an outline of what my report would say.

When the speech began I pulled out key quotes.

But here’s where it gets interesting. /4

As I listened to Xi's speech, I began to change my story.

The narrative was supposed to be China taking the place of the US as defender of global economic order.

But the reality was China had some of the most intense protectionist practices in the world. /5

Anyone who studies trade in China knows many rules are unwritten.

Foreign companies often have to work with Chinese competitors, sharing technology and methods, to access the market.

This is China’s right. But it is not an "open economy."

Just ask Twitter. Or YouTube. /6

So instead of finishing my pre-packaged story I began adding context on Xi’s speech.

I led by underscoring how China protected its industries and companies.

I stressed that Xi was less taking the helm of globalization than (smartly) seizing a PR opportunity. /7

When I turned in the story the edits came back quickly: change it.

My job was to report what Xi said in the approved frame: China's leader steps up as the defender of globalization.

I did my job. But the experience changed me.

/8

This is the invisible architecture of the news:

Expectations of reality limit what you can say about reality.

/9

My unsigned news report went out on the wires to thousands of newspapers and editors around the world.

It was not wrong. But it was, I felt, incomplete.

If you think about China's history of "openness" since then, you might agree.

/10

To my editor's credit, later on I was able to write a separate piece pointing out the inconsistencies in Xi's message and China's reality.

It was a slight counterweight to the narrative I helped to uphold. /11

But the damage was done. That moment of narrative control ignited a reaction that had been brewing for some time.

I became a journalist because I wanted to share an independent perspective that I hoped would help people.

What I ended up doing was very different.

Looking back at the speech, one moment jumps out.

Xi said globalization was Pandora’s box.

Then, he (and we) had no idea a pandemic would arise in China and travel through global networks to the rest of humanity.

The world halted. China closed.

Millions dead. /12

Keep that in mind the next time an event is hyped as an Important Moment.

The true significance may lie hidden within it, where most cannot see it.

Except, perhaps, those willing to ask questions the prevailing narrative misses.

/end

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