Inside the Starbucks store near Shanghai World Financial Center Photo: GT staff reporter

US media Newsweek last week published a story with a sensationalized headline, suggesting that Shanghai has turned into "a ghost town." 

The story quoted a misleading tweet and poured cold water on China's economy based on a few pictures showing empty streets and stores.

However, Global Times reporters who just visited the exact streets and stores saw completely different pictures, with the streets packed with cars and crowds of people. 

The pictures reposted by Newsweek are not accurate, as they seem to be selective and reflecting only off-hours periods when the streets and stores are relatively empty - another example of how foreign media outlets choose selective information to smear the Chinese economy. 

In the article, Newsweek quoted right-wing author Michael Yon's post on social media platform X, formerly known as twitter, hinting that Shanghai has become a "ghost town" caused by "economic difficulties" and previous anti-pandemic measures.

Yon posted three photographs showing an empty Starbucks store, a vacant pedestrian bridge and a desolate road. He claimed the pictures were taken by a friend on September 4, and the pictures demonstrate that "China is showing the most signs of an economy in trouble."

Photo: Michael Yon's post on Platform X

However, the Starbucks store whose picture Yon posted is located near the Shanghai World Financial Center and the store is far from empty when Global Times reporters visited on Monday. 

At 1:00 pm, there were about 40 customers sitting in the two-floor store, with few empty tables remaining. On the first floor, there are only three empty tables, and others were seen waiting in line at the register to order their drinks.

Left: Picture of an empty Starbucks store from Yon's post. Right: People walking by the Starbucks near Shanghai World Financial Center on Monday. Photo: GT staff reporter

 

Inside the Starbucks store near Shanghai World Financial Center Photo: GT staff reporter

 

Obviously, Newsweek made use of Yon's flawed claims about Shanghai and the Chinese economy in pushing negative narratives about China.

As a matter of fact, official data shows that Shanghai is steadily recovering from the pandemic. According to the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics, from January to July, Shanghai set up 3,261 new foreign-invested enterprises, an increase of 50.6 percent over the same period last year; the actual use of foreign capital amounted to $14.503 billion, an increase of 1.5 percent year-on-year.

The Shanghai Traffic Command Center released a quarterly report in late August, saying that, in the second quarter of 2023, average daily passenger trips processed by the city rail transit system on weekdays was 11.62 million - that does not look like a "ghost town" at all.

In recent months, some foreign media outlets have been stepping up a smearing campaign against China, painting a dire picture for the Chinese economy, often with selective information and incredible sources. For an example, Yon, who was quoted by Newsweek, proclaims to be "America's most experienced combat correspondent", but his recent posts were about the US being invaded by "aliens" (immigrants).

Left: Picture of a vacant pedestrian bridge from Yon's post. Right: People walking across the same pedestrian bridge at midday on a weekday. Photo: GT staff reporter