The Western media doesn't know how to portray China, or any foreign country. Everything is a caricature and taken as a mere curiosity or monstrosity. It remains at the stage of minstrelsy and Indian dress-up. If you read serious news from abroad, you'll see this.

Reading news about New Zealand from the international media, you'd think that it's some quaint rural backwater country, where its biggest problems are picking a new flag and people throwing dildos at politicians.

The news doesn't like to report on the growing methamphetamine problem, the youth suicide rate, or the increasing poverty. And why would it? Nobody overseas cares about these things happening in NZ, they have these problems at home.