Chinese state-owned media jumped at the chance to praise comments by President Joe Biden that demanded gas station owners “lower prices” and give up their profits amid skyrocketing gas prices. 

Biden’s reasoning for his demand was that “this is a time of war and global peril.”

My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril.

Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 2, 2022

Biden rejecting capitalism?

But China’s state-owned media seized on Biden’s words as a rejection of capitalism.

Chen Weihua tweeted in response to Biden, “Now US President finally realized that capitalism is all about exploitation. He didn’t believe this before.”

Now US President finally realized that capitalism is all about exploitation. He didn’t believe this before.

— Chen Weihua （陈卫华） (@chenweihua) July 2, 2022

It was a good point by the Chinese, and nothing that Biden and the Democrats haven’t heard from their critics before.

What is Biden doing?

Democrats have been trying to straddle capitalism and socialism/communism, two completely different worlds, for decades now, and the Chinese finally called them out for it.

If the U.S. is sticking with free-market capitalism, then it will need to let supply and demand set the prices, and do everything possible to increase supply to meet demand.

If the U.S. is going to go to a socialist/communist model, then it would do pretty much what it’s been doing: have the government control supply and prices.

But if that’s really what the Biden administration is trying to do, they are failing dismally while lying to the country about it.

Or maybe socialism and communism just don’t work.