EXCLUSIVE

Voice of 'Winnie the Pooh' Chill Out, China ... Prez Memes Are Flattering

China's Internet crackdown on memes comparing President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh is a major overreaction not worthy of even a bother ... according to the guy who gives Pooh a voice.

Jim Cummings -- the voice of Pooh since the '80s -- told us China and Prez Xi are taking the comparison all wrong, because it's actually a good thing.

TMZ.com

The memes started with a side-by-side image of Pooh and Tigger with a 2013 pic of Xi and President Obama -- and took off from there. Well, up until the government started blocking the images on all public sites and forums.

Jim, who also voices Tigger, advises a smackerel of Pooh's favorite food to calm the sitch -- but with nearly 1.5 billion people ... might take more than that.

FYI Winnie the Pooh is banned in China because of this image:
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