National Radio and Television Administration of China
The National Radio and Television Administration, or NRTA, was established in March 2018 as a ministry-level agency controlled by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department. Headquartered in Beijing, it succeeded the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, with Director Cao Shumin (曹淑敏) appointed as its current head in May 2023. The organization maintains direct control over state broadcasters, including China Central Television, China National Radio, and China Radio International, while issuing content guidelines that have restricted everything from reality TV shows to historical dramas. The agency has expanded its international reach, signing a cooperation agreement with Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media in July 2021 on news coverage and media narratives. In June 2022, the NRTA and Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a code of conduct for online content creators that banned material that “weakens, distorts, or denies the leadership of the CCP.”
