In the political language of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), “the people” (人民) is a precise political formulation. In many cases, it does not refer generally to the entirety of the population but rather to a particular set of the population seen by the leadership to be politically in line with its goals.

This term, first emerging under Mao Zedong in the 1950s, is frequently used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to pay tribute to foreigners seen as having been amiable to China, and beneficial to the interests of the Party.

Frequently used in the context of China’s external propaganda aims, this specialized term with roots in Western academic discourse points to a straightforward political goal: redrawing the lines of acceptable global discourse on China in ways that emphasize China’s positive role, that define the centrality of the Chinese Communist Party, and und…