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Activity Category: Media Engagement Activity

Dataxet Signs Cooperation Deal with Xinhua

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Dataxet (ดาต้าเซ็ต), a Thai media intelligence company, has signed a cooperation agreement with Xinhua News Agency and its affiliate China Economic Information Service (中国经济信息社), or CEIS. Under the agreement, Dataxet will market the Xinhua Silk Road Information Service (新華絲路網) — an information product focused on China’s economy and Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative — to businesses in Thailand. The Xinhua Silk Road Information Service has identified itself in Chinese during public exchanges, including last year’s China-Cyprus-Europe Media Forum, as a “Country-specific External Propaganda Center” (國別外宣中心), clearly indicating its role within China’s official external communication network (archived).

Xinhua President Meets with Reuters and AP Presidents

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On June 12, 2024, Xinhua News Agency President Fu Hua (傅華) met with Associated Press President and CEO Daisy Veerasingham and Reuters President Paul Bascobert in New York. Fu and Veerasingham signed a new cooperation agreement on news and information services, and both sides discussed artificial intelligence’s impact on media and Olympic coverage. Fu expressed hope for strengthening cooperation with Reuters on emerging technologies and international news services, noting the partnership between the two agencies dating back to 1957. While Xinhua provided enthusiastic coverage of the meetings, neither the Associated Press nor Reuters reported on them. These partnerships allow Western news agencies to operate in China, while Xinhua views the cooperation as part of China’s broader efforts to shape global discourse and enhance its government’s international image.

6th World Media Summit Held in Xinjiang

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On October 14, 2024, Xinhua News Agency and the Xinjiang regional government co-hosted the 6th World Media Summit in Urumqi, China, with over 500 participants from 106 countries and regions attending, according to Xinhua. The summit focused on “Artificial Intelligence and Media Transformation.” Organizers arranged a tour of Xinjiang for attendees, which Xinhua documented in vlogs featuring media representatives from Thailand, Pakistan, and Myanmar describing their positive impressions of the region. China faces widespread allegations of human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, including mass detention and forced labor, which the U.S. has characterized as genocide. China rejects these accusations, claiming the facilities are vocational training centers. The World Media Summit (WMS), is a forum conceived by China in the midst of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and first held in October 2009, with the explicit idea on China’s part to expand its global influence and “discourse power” (話語權) through a semi-formal international mechanism under its leadership. Eight months ahead of the first meeting, Xinhua News Agency chief Li Congjun (李从军) wrote in the official periodical China Journalist that the event of conceived “[according] to the Central Committee’s strategic demand for ‘strengthening external propaganda’” (大外宣).

Xinhua Hosts Dialogue with Reuters, AP and AFP

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On October 12, 2024, representatives from Xinhua News Agency, Reuters, the Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse convened in Beijing for a high-level meeting among the four agencies. This was the second dialogue event hosted by Xinhua since the December 2023 inaugural meeting. Unlike the first meeting, which included top executives, the October gathering featured senior officials rather than agency leaders. According to Xinhua, the agencies discussed AI’s impact on journalism, with Xinhua’s president Fu Hua (傅華)  saying that AI poses many challenges to news reporting, including the risk of spreading false information through AI-generated images and videos. Fu suggested the agencies “embrace technological change” while combating misinformation, claiming “major global wire services should jointly shoulder the responsibility of upholding journalistic ethics.” Representatives from Reuters, AP, and AFP reportedly stated news agencies should redefine AI use while building safeguards, and all four agencies agreed to continue strengthening communication on AI-related topics. Xinhua has been keen to establish dialogue with the major international news wires in order to be seen as a key player in global information dissemination, but global news agencies have distanced themselves from the idea that cooperation with Xinhua relates to their professional journalism work — AP’s CEO emphasizing to US lawmakers in 2019 that cooperation is “purely commercial in nature.” 

China’s NDA and Chongqing Government Sign Deal with Singapore Media Development Authority

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China’s National Data Administration (国家数据局), the Chongqing Municipal Government (重庆市人民政府) and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (资讯通信媒体发展局) signed a memorandum of understanding on December 15, 2025, to jointly build a digital Land and Sea Corridor (数字陆海新通道), deepening cooperation under the China-Singapore Strategic Connectivity Initiative. The agreement establishes collaboration in three key areas: digital connectivity and cross-border data flows within agreed regulatory frameworks; joint research and application of artificial intelligence, blockchain and big data technologies; and digital talent exchange through workshops, skills certification and training programs. The MOU marks an expansion of the Land and Sea Corridor from physical infrastructure to a dual-track model incorporating digital channels, with parties agreeing to establish regular cooperation mechanisms to advance implementation and inject digital momentum into regional trade, industrial upgrading and economic growth.

AFP and Xinhua Sign Exchange MOU

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On January 18, 2024, the Paris-based global news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) and China’s official Xinhua News Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Beijing. According to Xinhua, the two agencies agreed to jointly hold photo exhibitions in Beijing and Paris in 2024 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations. They also discussed coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Xinhua characterized AFP as “one of the first Western news agencies to establish a friendly and cooperative relationship with Xinhua,” noting their first news exchange protocol in 1957. The agreement was signed at the sidelines of the 5th World Media Summit (第五屆世界媒體峰會) held in China’s southern Guangdong province, and was signed by Xinhua President Fu Hua (傅華) along with AFP CEO Fabrice Fries, a long-time corporate executive with no journalism and media background who has also served as the president of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA).  

Chinese Ambassador Pens Article for French Paper After China-EU Summit

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On July 25, 2018, Les Échos published an article by Chinese Ambassador to France Zhai Jun (翟隽) titled “China’s Position on Avoiding a Global Trade War,” following the 20th China-EU Leaders’ Meeting held on July 16, 2018 in Beijing. In the article, Zhai accused the United States of “implementing protectionism under the banner of its own priorities” and characterized US actions as “wielding the tariff bludgeon,” claiming these measures “forced China to retaliate.” The ambassador’s commentary addressed the trade disputes triggered when President Trump signed a memorandum on March 22, 2018, directing tariffs on Chinese goods following a Section 301 investigation into China’s technology transfer and intellectual property practices. The US implemented 34 billion dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods on July 6, 2018, with China retaliating the same day. The ambassador also advocated for closer China-Europe cooperation and called for alignment between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and European infrastructure plans to achieve what he called “mutual benefits.”

Xinhua and AFP Mark 60th Anniversary of News Exchange

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On September 12, 2017, Xinhua News Agency President Cai Mingzhao (蔡名照) met with Agence France-Presse (AFP) President Emmanuel Hoog in Beijing to discuss cooperation in new media development, photography, short videos, financial information, and technology services. The meeting marked the 60th anniversary of news exchange agreements between the two agencies, which began in 1957. Cai expressed hopes to “increase communications and cooperation.” At the same time, AFP’s president said that the agencies had “maintained long-term cooperative relations” and hoped to “share more experiences in the future.” No formal agreement was signed during the meeting.

Chinese Ambassador to France Pens Article in Le Monde Diplomatique

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On October 30, 2025, Chinese Ambassador to France Deng Li (邓励) published an article in France’s Le Monde Diplomatique titled “What kind of world does China hope to build?” promoting Beijing’s vision for reforming global governance and Xi Jinping’s four major initiatives — the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and Global Governance Initiative (GGI). In an underhanded reference to the United States, the article accused unnamed countries of “prioritizing their own interests” and undermining the multilateral order, while asserting China’s “contributions to the world.” The ambassador also said that “for over 40 years, China has never launched a single war against another country.” However, China engaged in the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, which Beijing initiated, and the 1962 Sino-Indian War, during which Chinese forces attacked deep into northeastern India.