[livueta]

One possibility is that it's a manifestation of the broader realization that China will probably not end up democratizing as it continues to develop, in contradiction to years of mainline thought that hoped for the emergence of a neoliberal trading partner rather than a rich, technologically advanced yet despotic state.

Previous discussion of an Economist article positing this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16499939

If this is the case, it shouldn't be a surprise that reporting reflects this broader shift in outlook. However, this isn't mutually exclusive with a top-down edict, especially if the timeframe you're referring to is shorter than that implied by the broader perceptual shift argument.

[adventured]

Just about everything that Americans and Europeans were sold on about China, when it came to their entry into the WTO and acceptance on the global stage, has turned out to be a lie.

Not only has there been zero democratization, it has gone rapidly backwards during the Xi era. Nearly all human rights - the few that had been tangibly acquired post Deng - have been revoked in China. In the decade prior to Xi there was actually some limited freedom of speech occuring online, that is mostly gone at this point. They've cracked down on pretty much everyone and everything, even disappearing Marxist students protesting for better worker protections recently.

It was a very foolish premise by the West, to think that all nations want the same things culturally. That you can prod and shape the direction of nations/cultures in such a manner.