More info on what it is, and why being subject to Chinese media law and being a state outlet are different things, and what the actual differences are: "Facts and Myths about Global Times, the most misunderstood publication in China": https://beijingchannel.substack.com/p/facts-and-myths-about-...
I'm not seeing anything in the piece that suggests that it isn't. VOA is state media but doesn't necessarily represent the official positions of the US government.
Just because its homepage articles have opinions that often align with actual state outlets, doesn't mean it acts as a state outlet. Many of those perspectives are shared by regular Chinese people. If you don't believe me maybe you should visit China and talk to some people to confirm.
The Chinese people that are afraid to talk about politics if any phone is even just close to them? They probably would confirm opinions shared by state outlets, if they'd even bother with you.
You are right that Chinese people don't like talking about politics, but not because they fear the government. They tend to avoid confrontation in general. And also Chinese media spends very little time bashing foreign countries, so most people have very favorable opinions about foreign countries even if there are political tensions.
Research by reputed western institutions show conclusively that it is false that people are afraid of the government.
This other Harvard paper about censorship shows that censorship's goal is not to remove criticism, but to limit collective action, regardless of whether the speech is pro or anti government. The paper shows that many people are not afraid of, and do, complain about the government, and that if their comments do not instigate collective action, then they are unlikely to be removed. https://gking.harvard.edu/publications/how-censorship-china-...
This video by a Canadian expat shows, with concrete and verifiable examples, that despite censorship, people complain about issues, and that the government listens to grievances and even actively addresses them. https://youtu.be/i6jBayUuB4A
And the articles about what a terrible country the USA is? Just checked, only one "USA bad" article and one "McDonald's Bad" article. Everything was about superior Chinese achievement and awesome CCP party members. lol
No, articles are usually not aggressive towards another country; light criticism could be found here and there, but not focused on the US.
The articles are e.g. about China becoming a leader in this/that economy sector. Focus topics seem to be (as far as I remember, been there in 2019 last):
- Progress and positive effects of the Belt and Road initiative
- Massive infrastructure projects in mainland China - railway
- Fighting pollution - stories about new regulations, violations and their prosecution
- Fighting corruption - stories about prosecution of corruption
- Aspiring economy sectors in China - domestic airplane development
- Joint ventures with technology leaders - like research centers
- Cooperation with other countries
- Messages of the CCP and the president himself - perfected message control
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202105281083022763-chinese-arti...
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1224755.shtml