Skip to main content

Activity Category: Media Engagement Activity

Xinhua Signs MOU with Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency

On August 31, 2025, Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency signed a cooperation agreement with China’s Xinhua News Agency. According to the Azerbaijani agency, the partnership aims to “strengthen, promote and develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of mass media based on the principle of reciprocity and mutual benefit.” The agreement encompasses information sharing, joint project collaboration, and the organization of training programs and conferences. The formal exchange ceremony took place on September 6, 2025, during China’s Global South Media and Think Tanks Forum in Yunnan Province, where Ahmad Ismayilov, head of Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency, met with Xinhua President Fu Hua (傅華) to formalize the partnership.

Chinese Embassy Donates Media Equipment to Island Sun

On August 27, 2021, the Chinese Embassy in Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands, donated computers to the Island Sun newspaper in a ceremony where the Deputy Head of Mission personally presented the equipment to the publication’s owner. Embassy officials framed the donation as part of their commitment to supporting local media during difficult times, specifically citing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The newspaper’s leadership welcomed what they described as a “timely donation” and expressed interest in strengthening future collaboration with the Embassy. The donation is an example of China’s broader overseas media strategy of providing technical equipment and resources to local news organizations as a means of building relationships and influence.

2025 South and Southeast Asian Media Network Annual Meeting

The 2025 South and Southeast Asian Media Network Annual Meeting (2025南亞東南亞媒體聯盟年會) was held on September 5, 2025, in Kunming, bringing together representatives from 11 countries including China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and Sri Lanka. The event featured what Chinese state media characterized as “high-level participation” from propaganda and information ministers, underscoring the official and diplomatic core of what the Chinese hosts portrayed as a meeting about regional media cooperation. China Daily publisher Qu Yingpu (曲瑩璞) and Yunnan’s top propaganda official, Zeng Yan (曾艷), delivered keynote addresses. Zeng emphasized the need to build “a more united model of global media cooperation” (更團結的世界媒體合作典範) — a reference to China’s ambition of creating media industry blocs to counter what the leadership regards as an imbalance in Western dominance of global public opinion. Attendees launched new cooperation projects and discussed leveraging artificial intelligence for regional media development, with Myanmar’s information minister noting the need to learn from China’s technological advances. The meeting presented itself as a platform for “Global South” media collaboration while advancing China’s narrative influence through coordinated messaging and technology transfer initiatives. Among the foreign participants mentioned in news reporting was Vansay Tavinyan, editor-in-chief of Pasaxon newspaper (Laos); representatives from the Thai News Agency under Thailand’s state-owned public broadcaster, MCOT (Mass Communication Organization of Thailand); Qing Lian, the head of Cambodia’s Ministry of Information; and U Maung Maung Ohn, Myanmar’s information minister.

Shenyang Hosts Cross-Strait Media Youth Symposium

On September 10, 2025, the Liaoning Provincial Taiwan Affairs Office (遼寧省委台辦) and Liaoning Communication University (遼寧傳媒學院) hosted a cross-strait media symposium titled “Liaoning-Taiwan Perspectives: A Mirror for the Future” (遼台視界 鏡啟未來) in Shenyang. Nearly 40 participants attended, including journalists from Taiwan, social media personalities, reporters from Hong Kong, and professors from Liaoning Communication University. Participants included Yuan Tianming (袁天明), chairman of the little-known Chinese Journalists Association (中華新聞記者協會), or CJA TW, who was misidentified as chairman of the Association of Taiwan Journalists (台灣新聞記者協會), a professional non-governmental organization composed of Taiwanese journalists. Yuan characterized the event as “meaningful for deepening cross-strait exchange” and complimented China’s grand official commemoration on September 3 of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. During the symposium, three Taiwanese nationals identified as social media personalities (自媒體人)— Sun Ziyun (孫子芸), James (邱慶齡), and Wu Zhichun (吳志淳) — shared their personal experiences working in China. Sun Ziyun described Liaoning as her “second hometown,” while Wu Zhichun promoted the province’s policies for Taiwanese entrepreneurs, including office space, tax benefits, and housing subsidies. James, visiting Liaoning for the first time, shared his experience of having participated in the September 3 military parade. While identified as social media personalities, the three Taiwanese participants have chiefly been promoters of China and its message of cross-strait integration, and seem to have little appreciable impact inside Taiwan.

Xiamen University Hosts China-ASEAN Journalism Education Conference

The “China-ASEAN Journalism Education Conference” (中國—東盟未來新聞傳播教育會議), bringing together approximately 30 academic representatives from nine ASEAN countries alongside Chinese academics, was held from September 13-14, 2025, in the port city of Xiamen. Co-organized by the School of Journalism and Communication of Xiamen University (廈門大學新聞傳播學院) and the university’s Center for International Communication Research (廈門大學國際傳播研究中心), the conference revolved around the theme of journalism and the role of artificial intelligence. Indian national Daya K. Thussu (達雅·屠蘇), president of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), participated in sessions focused on artificial intelligence’s impact on journalism. He said that journalism education “needs to summarize the past to face the future” and stressed the importance of cooperation among ASEAN journalism education institutions to address future challenges posed by technological developments and changing media landscapes. The conference, which emphasized “building a China-ASEAN journalism education community” (构建中国—东盟新闻传播教育共同体), reflected Beijing’s broader regional foreign policy strategy, using partnerships in media, education, and culture to further its geopolitical goals. Chinese media reports indicated participation by representatives from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Xi Pens Article for Tajikistan Media

On July 5, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) published a signed article titled “Working Together for a Brighter Future of China-Tajikistan Relations” (共創中塔關係美好明天) in Tajikistan’s Narodnaya Gazeta newspaper and the state-run Khovar News Agency. The placement of the article corresponded with his state visit to the country, his third since coming to office in late 2012. The visit followed Xi’s attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan. In the article Xi emphasized deepening bilateral cooperation and announced the establishment of a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” between China and Tajikistan. Xi met with President Emomali Rahmon (埃莫馬利·拉赫蒙) during the visit, where they signed a joint statement on the upgraded relationship. The Narodnaya Gazeta is a government-owned Russian-language newspaper published every three weeks. Khovar is Tajikistan’s official state news agency, established in 1925.Announcement of the publication of Xi’s article was also made through the website of “The Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission,” using coverage by the state-run China Daily. The commission is associated with the SCO but actually run by the Chinese government, with a member of the CCP Central Committee as president — showing how China uses proxy groupings and forums to assist with its external propaganda work.

China and Indonesia Hold Youth Media Exchange Program

On August 29, 2025, the “We and the World Dialogue” (我們與世界對話) China-Indonesia youth media exchange took place in Jakarta, marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Nearly 100 young representatives from media organizations, universities, and research institutions participated. The event was co-organized by several Chinese institutions linked to the Guangxi Provincial Government, including the Information Office of the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (廣西壯族自治區人民政府新聞辦公室), the Guangxi International Communication Center (廣西國際傳播中心) — an office under the province’s propaganda office — and Guangxi Radio and Television (廣西廣播電視台). Indonesian partners included the state-run Televisi Republik Indonesia (印尼國家電視台) and the newspaper Harian InHua (印華日報). Participants explored three central themes throughout the event, including AI, media integration (媒體融合), and “Partners with Shared Destiny” (命運與共好夥伴) — this last theme clearly aligned with Xi Jinping’s foreign policy framework. This event is part of Guangxi’s broader role under a national plan in China to empower border provinces in the south to promote Chinese messaging across Southeast Asia.

CMG and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Sign Cooperation MOU

Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), Pakistan’s state broadcaster, signed a cooperation memorandum with China Media Group on September 2, 2025, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin. The agreement was among 14 bilateral media cooperation deals CMG struck with broadcasters from 13 countries during the summit, covering news reporting, joint programming, cultural activities, technological innovation, industry development, personnel exchanges, and media resource sharing. The CMG partnership with PBC is part of China’s broader efforts to strengthen SCO media cooperation.

CMG and Kyrgyz National TV Sign Cultural Exchange Letter of Intent

The National Broadcasting Corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic (KTRK), Kyrgyzstan’s state broadcaster, signed a letter of intent for joint cultural exchange activities with China Media Group on September 2, 2025, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin. The agreement was among 14 bilateral media cooperation deals CMG struck with broadcasters from 13 countries during the summit, covering news reporting, joint programming, cultural activities, technological innovation, industry development, personnel exchanges, and media resource sharing. The CMG partnership with KTRK is part of China’s broader efforts to strengthen SCO media cooperation.