Party propaganda rap aims to 'tell foreigners truth' about China

A rap song in English aiming to tell foreigners "the truth" about China has been released by a faction of the Chinese Communist Party.

This is China was posted onto micro-blogging site Weibo on Tuesday by China's Communist Youth League and has been shared more than 40,000 times.

It features a mix of traditional Chinese elements against modern rap.

It says China has "terrible problems" but is peace-loving, affluent and at the forefront of scientific research.

The song says China is big, developing and 'hard to manage'

The song opens by saying that it wants to "restore the impression you have on my country, China", saying a false image had been fabricated by the international media.

It then explains that China is a "developing country and is really hard to manage", and acknowledges the many incidences the country has gone through, such as the 2008 Chinese milk scandal, where dairy products were found tainted with melamine.

However, its chorus concludes that its people still "love the country".

Some of the lyrics from This is China

Mask-changing, which is featured in the video, is a key element of Sichuan opera

The power of Chinese people in China are gradually proving

That we can make a better world as we love peace and harmony.

Meanwhile we can trust the public security

Cuz the policemen are kind to citizens but crucial to our enemies.

....

This is China

We love the country we the Chi-phenomena

The red dragon ain't no evil

But a peaceful place

The beautiful land with rich culture remain

"This is a song for Westerners to understand China," Wang Zixin of CD Rev, a rap group from Chengdu who collaborated with the Youth League to produce the video, told news outlet Sixth Tone.

"We want Westerners to know that Chinese know our problems and we are trying to make a change."

The music video also addressed more serious topics, such as the political status of Taiwan

The music video also mentions the political status of Taiwan, saying "for normal citizens, we just want to be united as one, cause we think we are from one family".

Issues like gun control are also referenced in the lyrics.

Last year, CD Rev released a music video - The Force of Red - which commented strongly on the independence of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

China officially considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province, which will eventually be reunited with China, by force if necessary.

The rap has received mostly positive feedback on Weibo, with comments ranging from users saying how much they loved the country, to others saying they had been reduced to tears.

"Although we have many shortcomings, little by little, we can make our country stronger and our lives better," said one such comment.

However, others questioned why the song wasn't in Mandarin, saying that they were unable to understand parts of it.

Others took a more light-hearted jab at it, with one user saying "this is definitely China, we wake up to pandas every day", a reference to the clips in the video showing pandas in the woods.