On November 5, 2024, the China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) and the News Agency of the Slovak Republic signed a cooperation memorandum during the Slovak Prime Minister’s official visit to China from October 31 to November 5. The deputy director of CMG and TASR’s director general signed the agreement, which called for regular exchanges, content sharing, technological cooperation, and personnel visits between the two state-affiliated media organizations. The agreement coincided with the 75th anniversary of China-Slovakia diplomatic relations and the nation’s broader effort to establish a strategic partnership with China.
Chinese Ambassador to Senegal Li Zhigang (李志剛) met with Senegal National Broadcasting Director Pape Alé Niang on January 7, 2026 to discuss China-Senegal media exchange and cooperation. Ambassador Li emphasized that China “highly values promoting China-Senegal and China-Africa civilizational exchange and mutual learning” ahead of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges — an initiative between China and the African Union kicked off in January 2026 — and expressed willingness to cooperate with Senegal National Broadcasting on media coverage of major events including the Dakar Youth Olympic Games. Director Niang praised China’s contributions to Senegal’s development and stated willingness to “learn from China’s development experience” and “actively promote Senegal-China friendly cooperation.” The meeting represents China’s efforts to build media coordination with African state broadcasters as part of broader people-to-people exchange initiatives designed to strengthen “hearts connecting, emotions blending, and forces gathering.” The language of “civilizational exchange” reflects official CCP terminology positioning China as creator of “a new form of human civilization” that other countries should emulate, while “friendship” is a term the CCP uses to condition relationships on accommodating China’s core interests.
The China-Cyprus-Europe Media Forum was held from October 21-23, 2025, in Nicosia, Cyprus. According to a report from the official China News Service, the forum was organized by the China Media Group (中央广播电视总) and the Chinese Embassy in Cyprus, along with the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (塞浦路斯广播电视公司), the Cyprus Mail (塞浦路斯邮报), and the government-run Xinhua News Agency (新华社). More than 100 representatives from the media, government, diplomatic missions, universities, think tanks, and enterprises attended. The Chinese Ambassador said that he hoped participants would “deepen exchanges” and “tell stories of China-Cyprus friendship well” — language reflecting the Chinese Communist Party’s emphasis on “telling China’s story well” (講好中國故事), a core propaganda directive under Xi Jinping aimed at shaping international narratives about China. Cooperation between China and Cyprus, China-EU relations, media responsibilities, and the role of AI in media development were the main topics of the forum. The event released a declaration calling for the media to build “a community with a shared future for humanity” — this being a signature foreign policy concept introduced by Xi Jinping, and suggesting that the document was drafted by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The forum was timed ahead of the 55th anniversary of China-Cyprus diplomatic relations and Cyprus’s EU Council presidency in 2026.
On May 7, 2024, the Serbian newspaper Politika published a signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) titled “May the Light of Our Ironclad Friendship Shine on the Path of China-Serbia Cooperation” (願中塞鐵桿友誼之光照亮中塞合作之路). The placement of the article corresponded with Xi’s state visit to Serbia. In the article, Xi emphasized the “ironclad friendship” between China and Serbia, highlighting mutual support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. The article also referenced the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia during a NATO aerial bombing campaign on May 7, 1999, which killed three Chinese journalists. Xi’s article referred to the bilateral relationship emotively as a “friendship forged in fresh blood” (中塞两国人民用鲜血凝成的友谊).
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.
The Saudi bureau of the Chinese Communist Party’s official People’s Daily established a booth at the fifth Saudi Media Forum (第五届沙特媒体论坛), which convened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from February 2-4, 2026, focusing on “Media in an Evolving World.” The event attracted over 300 media professionals and experts from more than 20 countries. Running concurrently with the forum, the Future Media Exhibition featured participation from over 250 local and international institutions and companies. The forum provided a platform for discussing media transformation amid technological and geopolitical changes, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s efforts to position itself as a regional media hub while expanding ties with international media organizations, including Chinese state outlets.
The Third China-Russia Media Forum was held in Moscow on July 4, 2017, under the theme “New Future of China-Russia Cooperation and Media Mission.” TASS Director General Sergei Mikhailov (謝爾蓋·米哈伊洛夫) told Xinhua News Agency that the forum represented “a significant event” in the concluding China-Russia Media Exchange Year, with representatives from 75 media organizations signing 17 cooperation agreements. Mikhailov highlighted collaboration on strategic projects including China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” (一帶一路) and Eurasian Economic Union integration. He noted TASS’s long history with China dating to the 1920s and emphasized the importance of preserving cultural traditions amid global changes. The Media Exchange Year was announced by Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in 2015, running from 2016-2017.
On July 31, 2024, the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal published an op-ed in Portuguese outlets, including the weekly newspaper Diário de Notícias, regional radio station Iris FM, and the Portuguese Journalists Association website, talking about and promoting the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, a policy-setting meeting held in July 2024. The ambassador characterized the reforms introduced at the meeting as creating a “clearer blueprint” and called for deeper integration China-Portugal cooperation. He highlighted the “strong resilience, vitality, and potential” of China-Portugal relations and argued that the reforms would “inject more vitality” into bilateral cooperation.
In December 2024, the Greek newspaper Dimokratia (Δημοκρατία) signed a content-sharing agreement with the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, describing it as the first such partnership between Greek and Chinese newspaper publishers. According to Dimokratia, a delegation from the People’s Daily visited Athens earlier in 2024 to arrange a deal by which the Greek newspaper would periodically publish translated articles from its Chinese partner on domestic and international topics. The paper said the agreement was a way to offer readers what it characterized, mirroring Chinese official talking points, as an alternative to dominant Western media viewpoints. “At a time when news transmission is marked by a dangerous uniformity, while new poles of global power are simultaneously emerging,” said the paper’s announcement, “Dimokratia considers it its duty to enrich its sources of information by drawing from every corner of the globe.” It also described the People’s Daily as friendly toward Greece.
