"Old friend" is a common phrase China’s communist party uses as a tribute to foreigners considered helpful to their interests. It’s also an expression of nostalgia for longtime companions or acquaintances.
Is this real or did they just made it up to make China sound more mysterious and different lol
Yeah no idk what the hell they're doing with this article. 老外 (lǎowài in pinyin) literally translates to "old foreign" and is sort of said with the tone and intention of calling someone an "ol' buddy." It's a good-humored thing but isn't used formally by the press or government as it's seen as unprofessional and possibly misinterpreted for exactly this reason. Media crackers being disingenuous as always.
老外 here isn't the correct backtranslation I think, it's more mundane i.e. 老朋友 (lao pengyou lit, old friend). The 老 is affectionate, as you say. This would be the same lao pengyou they use for, for e.g. * spits * Kissinger.
Edit: read the article and yeah in that context it literally would just be 'old friend' 老朋友 with all the familiar, friendly connotations and usage it has in English. Wouldn't expect any less from VOA.
Ahh, gotcha. I am only at the beginning of my language learning journey, thanks for the correction!
No probs! 继续努力 💪
Pretty rich coming from people who use the word "aliens" to describe foreigners