Cangzhou Opens New York Communication Hub With Xinhua

On August 24, 2022, Xinhuanet (新華網), the publicly listed online platform of China’s government-run news agency, Xinhua, signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing with the government of Cangzhou, a port city in Hebei province, and unveiled the Cangzhou International Communication Center (滄州市國際傳播中心). According to Xinhuanet, the launch opened a North America branch of the center in New York offering “24-hour international communication services.” The propaganda office of the Cangzhou CCP Committee later said the branch was unveiled in Times Square, part of a strategy of “borrowing a boat to go out to sea” (借船出海) through central media’s overseas resources. Chinese scholars have noted that the branch drew on the “advantages” (優勢) of Xinhua’s overseas branch offices. Xinhua’s North America regional bureau has occupied offices in Times Square since 2011. Xinhuanet also operates a wholly owned subsidiary in the region, Xinhuanet North America Corporation. Xinhuanet chairman Liu Jian (劉健) said the center would “spread Cangzhou’s good voice” (傳播滄州好聲音). He added that it would create a favorable “public opinion atmosphere” (輿論氛圍) for attracting investment, language rooted in CCP doctrine on guiding public opinion. Hebei state media later claimed that the center’s content had reached 1.63 billion people in more than 100 countries, a figure that has not been independently verified.