By observing China’s domestic media landscape and state policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper proposes the concept of “propaganda state 2.0” as a framework for exploring autocratic state propaganda from a holistic perspective. It contends that state propaganda in China remains an agitprop apparatus deeply embedded in the totality of the authoritarian regime, which it both serves and is served by. This system performs both conventional persuasion and indoctrination functions, as well as fulfilling the now underestimated mission of agitation, which can enhance the credibility of propaganda messages. This framework emphasizes the legacies of China’s past “propaganda state” and effectively explains how the party-state transformed the pandemic into opportunities to win popular support, and how this resulted in a debacle. Theoretically, the article highlights how state propaganda in contemporary China can shape, if not dictate, state policy, while serving as a more organic framework that bridges the “hard” and “soft” propaganda literatures.
