Britain a 'Petty' and 'Declining' Empire, Argues Chinese Paper

Chinese pundits have marvelled at how their "super salesman"
prime minister Li Keqiang has scored an audience with the
Queen, despite not being China's head of state

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: State-controlled tabloid says Britain "hypes" human rights issues because it is unable to accept Chinese superiority and suggests readers take pity on “old declining empire”

Britain is an “eccentric” and “petty” empire in decline that criticises China in order to mask its own deficiencies, a Chinese newspaper claimed on Wednesday as Li Keqiang, the country’s prime minister, began day two of his UK tour.

One day after the Chinese premier was welcomed to Britain by David Cameron and the Queen, the Global Times, a prominent state-run tabloid, slammed the country hosting Mr Li as a fading power that refused to accept its dwindling global influence.

“Britain’s national strength cannot be placed in the same rank as China now, a truth difficult to accept for some Britons who want to stress their nobility,” argued the tabloid, which is affiliated to the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.

The British media “habitually” hyped charges of human rights abuses against China in order to hide this new reality, the editorial added. » | Tom Phillips, Shanghai | Wednesday, June 18, 2014