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Xinhua and National Media Group Sign News Exchange Deal

On May 20, 2026, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Beijing, Xinhua News Agency signed a news exchange and cooperation agreement with National Media Group (國家媒體集團), which Chinese state media described as owning multiple major Russian media outlets and handling external-facing information dissemination. According to Xinhua, the agreement covers the exchange of news and information products and mutual visits by personnel between the two sides, aimed at what it called “pragmatic cooperation.” Xinhua News Agency president Fu Hua (傅華) said the agency was ready to work with National Media Group “under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state” to deepen what he called the “comprehensive strategic partnership and coordination between China and Russia in a new era.” National Media Group controls 28 Russian media outlets, including Channel One, Izvestia, and REN TV, and has been under EU sanctions since 2024 for what the bloc described as actively spreading propaganda and disinformation related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The holding is owned by Bank Rossiya and chaired by Alina Kabaeva, who has separately been sanctioned by the EU, UK, and US over her role at the outlet. The agreement was one of four documents Xinhua signed with Russian media that day.

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