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Activity Category: Media Engagement Activity

Ambassador Featured in Saudi Media

In an interview with Saudi newspapers Riyadh Daily (利雅得報) and Al-Eqtisadiah (經濟報) in April 2024, outgoing Chinese Ambassador Chen Weiqing (陳偉慶) characterized bilateral relations as “full of spring’s new greenery on the ancient Silk Road” (丝路古道满眼生机,中沙关系充满春的新绿). He praised Saudi’s social and economic diversification efforts under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s leadership. The ambassador highlighted cooperation through China’s Belt and Road Initiative (一帶一路) and Saudi’s Vision 2030, pointing to Chinese companies’ involvement in major Saudi projects including NEOM, a planned futuristic city, and the Red Sea Project, a regenerative tourism initiative. Chen, who served five years in the position from 2019-2024, stated that bilateral trade had “increased by nearly 40 percent” during his tenure, from $780 billion in 2019 to over $1 trillion in 2023, and expressed his desire to return in 2030 to “witness the realization of Vision 2030.” The interviews featured extensive Chinese Communist Party terminology, including references to the “China-Arab community of shared destiny for the new era” (面向新時代的中阿命運共同體) and the “eight major joint actions” (八大共同行動) covering development, food security, health, green innovation, energy security, intercultural dialogue, youth empowerment, and security stability.

Content Cooperation Between Literarni Noviny and Guangming Daily

A Guangming Daily (光明日報) delegation visited the Czech Central European News Agency in July 2019, where the collaboration with Czech publication Literární noviny was characterized as “part of the country’s large-scale foreign propaganda work” (國家大外宣工作). The partnership included a Czech-language supplement called “Dossier” featuring content about traditional Chinese medicine, Shanghai, and Zhejiang province that published three issues with many articles written by Czech journalists and writers. The delegation, including Zhang Yeqing (張業清), Tan Limin (譚莉敏), Song Leyong (宋樂永) and Liu Jiaming (劉家銘), also met with representatives of the official China News Service Prague bureau. The lunch meeting at the Huanghe Restaurant included restaurant owner Xia Kangping (夏康平), Grant European Chamber of Commerce President Jia Jianping (賈建平), and Guangming Daily‘s current Prague correspondent Zhong Weikai (仲偉凱).

Xinhua and Europa Press Sign Strategic Partnership

On October 25, 2019, China’s Xinhua News Agency (新華社) and Spain’s Europa Press announced a collaboration agreement that both parties described as “a privileged broadcast channel” for Spain in China. Europa Press, Spain’s largest private news agency, partnered with the Chinese state-run agency in what Xinhua characterizes as part of its broader external propaganda. The agreement aimed to provide dual benefits: offering Spanish institutions and businesses a distribution channel to China and internationally through Xinhua, while increasing Chinese news coverage in Europa Press’s International Service. This partnership reflects Xinhua’s broader strategy of establishing content-sharing agreements with international news agencies worldwide, which critics have noted can facilitate the dissemination of Chinese government messaging to global audiences.

Xi Pens Article in Greek Newspaper Before Visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) published a signed article titled “Let the Wisdom of Ancient Civilizations Illuminate the Future” (讓古老文明的智慧照鑑未來) in Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper on November 10, 2019. The piece appeared ahead of his three-day state visit to Greece at the invitation of President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (Προκόπης Παυλόπουλος). Xi drew parallels between ancient Chinese and Greek philosophy, emphasizing their shared “human-centered” (以民為本) values while promoting Belt and Road (一帶一路) cooperation. He claimed Piraeus had been transformed into the “Mediterranean’s largest port” through a bilateral partnership with Chinese state-owned COSCO Shipping (中遠海運), though independent analysis shows it ranks as the largest in the eastern Mediterranean and fourth-largest in Europe.

China Propaganda Chief Meets Mexican Presidential Press Office in Beijing

On September 19, 2012, Liu Yunshan (劉雲山), then Chinese Communist Party Politburo member and head of the Central Propaganda Department (中央宣傳部部長), met with the director of Mexico’s Presidential Press Office at the Great Hall of the People (人民大會堂) in Beijing. According to the official Chinese government report, Liu stated that China-Mexico relations had maintained “good development momentum” (良好發展勢頭) over 40 years of diplomatic relations and expressed desire to “deepen strategic partnership” (深入發展戰略伙伴關係). The Chinese report stated that Liu called for strengthened news media exchanges, particularly in “new media” (新媒體), to allegedly “deepen political mutual trust” (深化政治互信). The Mexican official reportedly agreed that cooperation serves “common interests” (共同利益) and expressed interest in establishing “regular exchange mechanisms” (經常性的交流機制). The meeting included Wang Chen (王晨), director of the State Council Information Office (國務院新聞辦公室), China’s foreign propaganda agency.

Xinhua President Meets Mexican News Agency Head

Cai Mingzhao (蔡名照), President of Xinhua News Agency, met with Alejandro Ramos Esquivel, Director General of Mexico’s state news agency Notimex, in Beijing on September 22, 2015. During the meeting, Cai stated that despite geographical distance, China and Mexico share “long-standing friendship” (源远流长). Emphasizing media as a tool of bilateral exchange, Cai described news media as bearing “an important mission in promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries” (增进两国之间友好交往的重要使命). Cai stated that Xinhua prioritizes reporting on Mexico and Latin America, and expressed desire to strengthen cooperation with Notimex across various fields, building on what he described as “over 30 years of close collaboration” (30多年密切合作). Ramos said Xinhua’s work in new media left a “deep impression” (留下深刻印象) and stated his agency “wishes to further strengthen cooperation” (愿进一步加强合作) in promoting national images and addressing technological challenges.

China and Nigeria Advance Media Cooperation Agreement

On March 6, 2025, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Yu Dunhai (于敦海) met with Nigeria’s Information and National Orientation Minister Mohammed Idris in Abuja. Ambassador Yu stated that during the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC) Beijing Summit in 2024, President Xi Jinping and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu jointly announced the elevation of China-Nigeria relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Yu emphasized China’s commitment to implementing agreements from the summit, particularly the television, broadcasting, and news media cooperation memorandum signed during the September 2024 meetings. Minister Idris, who serves as publisher of Blueprint newspaper and chairman of WE FM, expressed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening media cooperation with China and implementing the bilateral agreements signed by both presidents.

China Journalists Association Engages with Iranian Media at Beijing Press Event

On March 9, 2025, the Tehran Times reported on Iranian journalists participating in a group interview with Guangdong delegates to China’s National People’s Congress, organized by the All-China Journalists Association (中華全國新聞工作者協會). ACJA representatives acknowledged that “exchange and cooperation between ACJA and Iranian journalists organization is not much, which is not matched with our bilateral political relations as well as the economic cooperation.” The organization expressed interest in “media delegation visits, joint interviews or coverage of some projects, media professional training” and specifically invited Iranian media counterparts to attend “the coming 2025 Belt & Road Journalists Network Forum in July.” The press event showcased developments in renewable energy, electric vehicles, battery recycling, artificial intelligence, and robotics through interactions with three Guangdong entrepreneurs serving as NPC delegates.

Xinhua Donates News Production Equipment to Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Xinhua News Agency (新華通訊社) and the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce (老撾中華總商會) held a media equipment donation ceremony at the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism on October 10, 2024. According to the original Chinese source, officials stated the donation was part of implementing outcomes from the second “Belt and Road Laos-China Cooperation Forum” (一帶一路老中合作論壇), which was held in December 2023. Xinhua Asia-Pacific Deputy Director Zhang Chongfang (張崇防) and Laos’ Deputy Minister of Information Phosy Chommaly attended the October ceremony. The deputy minister said the equipment would be “properly allocated” and noted that some equipment had already been deployed to support ASEAN summit coverage, claiming it would “promote media exchanges and cooperation” between the two countries. The forum framework was jointly organized by Laos’ Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Xinhua News Agency, and the Lao Chinese Chamber of Commerce.