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Activity Category: Media Engagement Activity

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. 

Chinese Ambassador Interviewed by Nouvelles d’Europe

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On September 3, 2025, Nouvelles d’Europe (歐洲時報), a Chinese-language newspaper founded in Paris in 1983 and now operated under the official China News Service and the United Front Work Department of the CCP, published a written interview with the Chinese ambassador to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. In the interview with the newspaper, whose majority shares are held by by the Hong Kong registered Asia Culture Enterprise Limited, or “Ya Zhou Wen Hua Enterprises,” an entity founded in 1997 by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO), the ambassador promoted China’s version of WWII history and portrayed the PRC as a defender of multilateralism. He claimed China was “the main battlefield in the East” and emphasized Taiwan’s return to China as part of the post-war order, while portraying the PRC as the first to sign the UN Charter. However, it was the Republic of China (ROC) under Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government that signed the 1942 UN Declaration and 1945 UN Charter as the leading force fighting Japan. The PRC was established in 1949, four years after the end of WWII. 

Indonesian and Malaysian Journalists Visit Xinjiang

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Journalists from Indonesia and Malaysia visited the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (新疆維吾爾自治區) from February 22-27, 2019, as part of the ASEAN Elites China Tour 2019. According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the group included a senior editor from the Indonesian newspaper Kompas, an assistant editor from the Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian, the chief editor of the Indonesian digital platform IDN Times, and representatives from Liputan6, Metro TV,  and Antara (Indonesia’s national news agency). The journalists visited what Chinese authorities described as “vocational education and training centers” in the eastern Shule and Hotan County. Participants were quoted describing facilities as having “spacious buildings” and being “well-equipped,” with one journalist quoted by Xinhua saying that it was “not as reported by some news outlets.” Human rights organizations have criticized such government-organized tours as highly controlled and designed to counter international reporting that has documented serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang. International organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Office, have documented that more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been arbitrarily detained in these facilities since 2017, with torture and other abuses reported by former detainees.  

China Media Group and BFM Business Co-produce Anniversary Program

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Marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France on January 27, 2024, China Media Group (CMG) announced the launch of a special program co-produced with France’s BFM Business called “Brilliant Sixty Years: High-Level Dialogue on the 60th Anniversary of China-France Diplomatic Relations” (璀璨甲子 中法建交60周年高端對話). The program featured an interview with former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, with video remarks from Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), vice minister of the Central Propaganda Department and CMG president, and Lu Shaye (盧沙野), then-Chinese Ambassador to France. The pro-Beijing Hong Kong outlet Wen Wei Po described the collaboration as showcasing “the broad future of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership.” The program was broadcast on BFM Business and CGTN French, serving China’s diplomatic messaging around the anniversary, and was also promoted on the nightly official news broadcast on CCTV. 

Le Figaro Runs Xi Jinping Article

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On March 23, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) published a signed article in France’s Le Figaro (費加羅報) ahead of his second state visit to France. The article, titled “Moving Together Toward Common Development” (在共同發展的道路上繼續並肩前行), appeared before Xi arrived in Nice on March 24. In the piece, Xi reviewed developments in China-France relations since his first state visit in 2014, noting that bilateral trade had grown by over 13 billion US dollars and mutual investment exceeded 20 billion US dollars. Xi stated China would “open wider” and welcomed French companies to invest in China while expressing hope that Chinese businesses would “do better in France.” Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported that Chinese state media purchased “at least over one million euros” in advertising space across multiple French outlets during the visit, with content from Xinhua News Agency (新華社) appearing prominently.

Chinese Ambassador Pens Article for Senegalese Media

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On December 15, 2025, the Chinese Ambassador to Senegal  published a signed article in Senegalese newspapers Le Soleil and Le Quotidien, promoting the “Initiative on Cooperation Supporting Modernization in Africa,” a joint framework launched by China and South Africa at the November 22, 2025, G20 summit in Johannesburg. The article outlined six principles: “justice and fairness,” “openness and win-win,” “people-centered,” “diversity and inclusiveness,” “ecological friendliness,” and “peace and security”—rhetoric consistent with China’s  framing of Africa engagement through concepts like “amity, equality, win-win, common development.” The ambassador wrote that the Global South “can completely achieve leapfrog development through its own efforts,” positioning Chinese modernization as an alternative development model. 

CMG Hosts Exchange Event in Munich

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On October 11, 2024, the China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) hosted a cultural exchange event in Germany to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of China-Germany diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the all-round strategic partnership, which was announced in March 2014. The event took place in Munich, where, according to media reports, approximately 100 attendees from various sectors, including CMG’s vice president, representatives from the Chinese Embassy, and officials from the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology, were in attendance. During the event, the German Vogel Communications Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CMG Europe, which, according to Vogel’s announcement, would include journalist exchange programs to China. The event also highlighted CMG’s cooperation with German broadcaster ZDF on documentary co-productions. 

CMG Signs MoU for Paris 2024 Olympics Cooperation

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On October 23, 2023, China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), or CMG, and the Paris 2024 Olympic Organizing Committee signed a cooperation memorandum in Paris regarding broadcasting the Olympics and related media promotion programs. The agreement outlined CMG’s role as a host broadcaster, deploying over 2,000 personnel to produce international broadcast signals for gymnastics, table tennis, badminton, and sport climbing using “5G+4K/8K+AI” technology. CMG President Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), and Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet signed the memorandum. The agreement also covered promotional programming and “telling the Olympic stories” of Beijing and Paris. Estanguet praised Beijing’s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics, without mentioning that the event faced diplomatic boycotts over human rights concerns in Xinjiang. Estanguet said France had much to learn from Beijing and that the cooperation would bring the countries closer “in the spirit of the Olympics.”