Indians have reacted with bemusement and outrage at a “racist” video posted online by Chinese state media, as a highly charged border dispute between the two countries enters its third month.



The Chinese state broadcaster Xinhua published a video on Wednesday highlighting India’s “seven sins” in relation to a standoff between the countries’ armies at the Bhutan-China border.

#TheSpark: 7 Sins of India. It’s time for India to confess its SEVEN SINS. pic.twitter.com/vb9lQ40VPH — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 16, 2017

Indian soldiers crossed into Bhutanese territory in mid-June to block Chinese soldiers from upgrading a road that Beijing says is within its borders, but which Bhutanese leaders claim belongs to them.

As a presenter lists India’s perceived misdeeds, the video repeatedly cuts to a Chinese man wobbling his head, wearing a fake beard and turban, and appearing to feign an Indian English accent.

The turbaned character in the video mocks India’s reaction to the Chinese roadwork, which he likens to someone “building a path in his garden”. It portrays Bhutan, which asked Delhi for military assistance to repel the Chinese, as an unwilling participant in the conflict and a victim of Indian bullying.



The footage is part of a series called The Spark, an English-language segment recently launched by the Chinese state media outlet that appears to be aimed at foreign audiences.



It was posted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which are blocked in China and inaccessible without the use of a virtual private network (VPN) to get past the country’s Great Firewall.

Indians on Twitter have called the video’s exaggerated depiction of a Sikh soldier racist, while the Indian Express newspaper criticised its “collage of poorly designed graphics replete with the soundtrack of canned laughter”.

Racist Xinhua video mocks India on "7 sins" on border by having host dress up in turban (imagine outrage if Chinese was portrayed like this) pic.twitter.com/XtBbChLWMB — Ananth Krishnan (@ananthkrishnan) August 16, 2017

Wow, Xinhua has gone full racist!👀 https://t.co/afUsvonTgx — Carl Zha (@CarlZha) August 16, 2017

can't wait for xinhua's next racist video — Nihari (@NihariFan) August 16, 2017

Diplomatic attempts to break the impasse in the Doklam plateau have reportedly foundered, with India pushing for a simultaneous withdrawal of troops and China insisting the Indian soldiers unilaterally retreat before dialogue can begin.

This week Chinese troops pelted their Indian counterparts with stones in another disputed border area near the Himalayan region of Ladakh, yet another sign of the burgeoning regional rivalry between the pair, which fought a border war in 1962.

Analysts believe another armed conflict is unlikely but say the harsh rhetoric on each side, especially from Beijing state organs, is increasing tensions.

In recent years, Chinese propaganda chiefs have embraced social media networks as a means of spreading the Communist party’s line overseas.

Xinhua has more than 10 million followers on Twitter; the Facebook page of the recently rebranded state broadcaster, CGTN, has more than 50m likes.

Since Xi Jinping became China’s president nearly five years ago, there has been a push to make party propaganda “fun”, including by producing state-sponsored rap songs and online videos that heap praise on Beijing’s policies and achievements.

One recent video, presented by a US journalist known for his fawning columns on Chinese politics, tried to explain China’s Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative in the form of a children’s story.

In 2015, samples of Xi’s voice were used throughout a state-sponsored hip-hop song that praised his crackdown on corruption, pledges to reform China’s economy and clean up the environment.

“Streamline the administration and delegate power to lower levels and unleash energy,” one verse said.