Former White House chief strategist and avowed China hawk Steve Bannon is producing a new documentary that will take aim at Chinese President Xi Jinping in the thick of U.S. negotiations with the Chinese government over a “phase two” trade deal.
Bannon, who ran President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, is using millions of dollars in contributions to, in part, help fund the initial production costs of “Emperor: Rise of Xi,” according to his nonprofit group’s most recent 990 tax return.
“This film will be a devastating takedown of the ‘myth of Chairman Xi’ including the Wall Street and corporatist faction that props up the regime,” Bannon told CNBC.
The 90-minute feature is being crafted to focus on modern Chinese history through the perspective of Xi and his late father, Xi Zhongxun, who was once the head of the propaganda department for the Chinese Communist Party, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be named as these decisions were yet to be made public.
The movie is expected to be released around Labor Day, these people said, in the midst of Trump’s reelection fight. The documentary has 50 cast members and the production team has more than 30 hours of footage.
The film will focus on Xi’s father’s association with Chinese dictator Mao Zedong. It will also look at Xi and his family’s historic links to the Chinese Community Party and the impact they had on World War II, the protests at Tiananmen Square and confrontations with the United States.
A separate five-hour documentary is set to be released in 2021, these people added.
Prior to his tenure as Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016, Bannon produced many conservative films, including “Clinton Cash” that probed allegedly shady dealings by the Clinton Foundation.
The revelation that Bannon is working on a film about Xi comes as the Chinese leader is under pressure for his response to the coronavirus, which has killed more than 130 people in the country. The documentary could address Xi’s response to the outbreak, according to one of the people familiar with the movie. Bannon has been discussing the impact the virus will have on the economy on his podcast, “War Room: Pandemic.“
Trump praised Xi’s efforts to contain the virus in a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum, saying he trusted the Chinese leader’s response.
Bannon has also nonetheless previously praised Xi’s rule over the nation, aligning himself with Trump’s view of the leader.
“Xi is very impressive. He really understands what’s in the best interests of his people,” Bannon told the South China Morning Post just after he departed the White House in 2017. “He is very smart, very tough but fair. He is direct and to the point – just like President Trump. That is why they like each other so much.”
The latest Bannon-backed film comes a few years after his departure from the White House and his earlier fallout with Trump himself. A year after leaving the administration, Bannon was repeatedly quoted in a critical book by Michael Wolff, “Fire and Fury.” That led to Trump lashing at his previous advisor, claiming Bannon “lost his mind.”
Still, since then, it appears Trump and Bannon are in allegiance on several key issues. The former White House advisor has publicly defended Trump’s use of tariffs and has been a staunch advocate of the president throughout the impeachment trial.
“Nice to see that one of my best pupils is still a giant Trump fan. Steve joined me after I won the primaries, but I loved working with him!” Trump tweeted in 2019.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/29/trump-ally-steve-bannon-producing-film-takedown-of-chinas-xi-jinping.html