Days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Shanghai, China, a video of him is being widely circulated on social media. Numerous users have shared the video, in which Blinken can be heard praising China’s development and its technological advancements.
A Facebook user posted the video with a caption: Have you listened to Anthony Blinken’s speech from Shanghai? 😱 #China #thursdayvibes
Check the above post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be False.
Upon closer examination of the viral video, the NM team found that the audio is out of sync with the video, and the audio itself appears to be altered.
Searching further for the original video, we found a post on Blinken’s X account, dated April 24, 2024, with a caption: “I’m in China to make progress on issues that matter most to the American people, including curbing fentanyl trafficking. We will discuss work underway to fulfil commitments made by@POTUSand President Xi last fall, as well as the areas where we have significant disagreements.”
Upon comparing the visuals of the viral clip with the video from Blinken’s X post, we found them to be similar.
In the original video, Blinken discusses cooperation aimed at preventing the entry of fentanyl ingredients into the US. He also addresses other differences and areas of contention between the US and China.
“I’ve just arrived here in Shanghai, in the People’s Republic of China, to work on issues that matter to the American people. One of those is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49. President Biden and President Xi, when they met in San Francisco at the end of last year, agreed to cooperate to help prevent fentanyl and the ingredients that make it from getting to the United States.” Blinken said.
Talking about dealing with differences with China the US Secretary of State said: “We’ll be dealing with areas where we have real differences with China, dealing with them directly, communicating clearly, face-to-face diplomatic matters. It’s important to avoid miscommunications and misperceptions, and to advance the interests of the American people.”
Thus, it is confirmed that the video in question is altered and does not show Blinken praising China’s economy and technological advancements.
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