“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
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 💪