a key part of today china propaganda is whataboutism and victimhood mentality.

e.g. if you bring up china debt trap, they will bring up euro colonization period.

they will say that every move that US does against china.

the hard part is that some are true, and some are false. it’s the mix of true and false that make any logical argument weak. it’s to their benefit to argue in the extremes, one party is all bad and the other party is all good.

they share similarity as religious preaching, the goal of it is not to convert others, but to face harsh reality outside and find refuge in the community, further strengthen your believe to the cause.

it’s not easy. because they are already being taught to get a beating, so the more you go aggressive with the topic, the more extreme they will become.

i recommend like many people here saying, listen and ignore. i generally play down the situation and remind them no one is all good or all bad, everything is grey. they enjoy a long conversation and fight.

the goal is to not be hostile (which play into what the cult wants) and point out what that bring another example to justify your action (whataboutism) and victimhood is propaganda techniques. you will seems more western leaning, but remind them that u just want to be objective, and trust no one.

maintaining a middle ground make them want to convert you but your goal is to act as a wall, approachable but unbreakable.

it’s extremely exhausting fyi.