it restructure the political and social systems to allow the illusion of freedom of expression/speech while maintaining the political narrative.  It is a very expensive endevour and will take a few generations.  Then again it will never happen. Even "free" Japan and Europe couldn't do it.  Only the Brits along with the US are able to successfully do it.  The Brits perfected it after a couple of centuries of subjugating its colonial subjects and the US inherited it. Until today, the opium war and recently, Hong Kong's "democracy" were explained away with the slightest effort while China is having fits as its stiff engineers are tryng to stutter their ineffective explanations on why there is no genocide in Xinjiang.  Or how the HK protest was a hooligan riot while in the US, brutal crackdown of protestors were easily explained away without even lifting a finger.  This is no PHD dissertation. People want to hear things that color their emotions not boring facts.

The fact that the English language is also the universal language showed how deep this "controlling of discourse" has reached.  

China did try by investing in Hollywood but the in your face, lack of subtlety was so obvious even to the casual observer.  As long as stiff engineers are trying to dictate media and marketing, it will never work. There are a lot of highly creative people in China but traditionally, these people are never taken seriously and considered "childish". That's the utilitarian nature of the Chinese culture that favors functionality over asthetics. Especially after the "century of humiliation" where hundreds of millions lived in extreme poverty. Highly creative people should be cultivated to lead China's soft front. Especially when electronic media is now the conduit to controlling the narrative.