I don't know what the CCP thinks, but China doesn't take much public action.
My personal view is that the Chinese system is still in a semi-war state.The CCP's propaganda department was also an ideological mobilization department in wartime. So their main job is to unite the CCP, not to influence others' thinking.
The Chinese government has no special propaganda department. There are not only the CCP, but also several other parties and non-party figures.So the Chinese government doesn't actually have a propaganda theme about China.
China is a socialist country, different from capitalism.China cannot adopt Western institutions - political parties, government, media, parliament.Then Chinese media is different from western media. Chinese media must be authentic, neutral, and properly worded.
While the western media is a tool of political struggle, they don't care about authenticity, their core is transmission power and aggressiveness.Freedom of speech actually means freedom of the press, and its purpose is to ensure that each political party has its own media to attack its opponents. So, the Chinese government actually has no media that can provide the functions of the Western media.Therefore, the Chinese can only take part in the battle as individuals.
And does whipping up populism do the country any good?I personally doubt it and I think the CCP feels the same way. But there is a battle to be fought.I think three systems should be adopted.The CCP remains responsible for ideology and oversight of the government, while the government is responsible for the disclosure of information.While the dirty work is left to private groups and individuals, the government should leave more room for unofficial speech.At the same time, laws should be set up to punish those who take money to talk, spread false information, and make crazy posts.