In the past several months, Beijing has urged its officials and party outlets to tamp down the swagger about China’s economic strength. Rather than behemoth, Beijing has begun to pitch itself as a humble helper, an aide to countries in need.

Editorials in the state-run People’s Daily cautioned against describing China’s accomplishments as “the world’s first” or “number one in the world.” This kind of braggadocio, writers argued, “could easily make people misunderstand or even misjudge” the country. (This month, a professor who dared suggest that China’s economy had already surpassed the United States’ faced a social media backlash of students and alumni suggesting he should be fired.)

State media has been told to minimize references to Made in China 2025, a major initiative to turn China into a global leader in 10 key industries, including artificial intelligence, commercial airline development and pharmaceuticals.

“The trade war has made China more humble,” Wang Yiwei, a professor of international affairs at Renmin University in Beijing and deputy director of the institution’s “Xi Jinping Thought” center, told Bloomberg. “We should keep a low profile.”