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Activity Type: Cross-Publication with PRC Sources

Los Angeles Times Runs China Daily Propaganda Insert

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An eight-page China Watch supplement appeared in the financially-struggling Los Angeles Times in June 2020, distributed by the Chinese government-backed China Daily. The standalone insert, branded “All You Need to Know,” featured content promoting Chinese perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The supplement was clearly labeled as not involving the newspaper’s editorial staff, but presented as news reading material. The timing coincided with the LA Times’ well-documented financial difficulties, suggesting economic motivations for accepting the paid insert. China expert Clayton Dube documented the supplement’s appearance, highlighting the case as another example of Chinese state media’s efforts to reach American audiences through established US newspaper distribution networks.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

China Daily Runs Supplement in India’s Hindustan Times

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A China Watch supplement appeared in India’s Hindustan Times on October 30, 2020, as part of China Daily’s global propaganda campaign targeting foreign audiences. The insert featured environmental stories including “Yellow River cleanup brings bright future” and coverage promoting Chinese development initiatives. China’s “China Watch” pages, which have appeared in newspapers across the world, blur the lines between Chinese propaganda and legitimate journalism, with the Chinese Communist Party paying substantial sums—including one million dollars annually to the UK’s Daily Telegraph—for such supplements. These payments represent a key component of China’s external propaganda (外宣) strategy to shape international perceptions.

Kenya’s Star Signs Insert Deal with China Daily

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Kenya’s Star newspaper signed a content-sharing agreement with China Daily Africa on July 16, 2025, at the Star’s Westlands headquarters in Nairobi. Radio Africa Group CEO Martin Khafafa and China Daily Africa Director Wang Xiaodong (王晓东) officiated the deal, which will see “China Watch” inserts published weekly in the Star, leveraging its “100,000-copy circulation.” Khafafa welcomed the partnership as showcasing China’s “contributions to Kenya’s economic growth,” while China Daily’s Kennedy Mureithi said the goal was to “break down Western bias” and expand influence across 15 African countries through local partnerships countering “misperceptions” about China’s continental role. This language closely mirrors Chinese state talking points, including Xi Jinping’s notion of “telling China’s story well.” Mureithi was quoted by China Daily as saying: “We believe that by telling our story in our own voice, more Africans will come to appreciate the values, innovations, and opportunities that China offers.” Xi’s notion of “China’s story,” however, does not suggest individual stories but refers to the “discourse power” (話語權) and voice of the Chinese Party-state, which is perpetuated also through restraints on discourse.

Nordic Chinese Times Signs Deal with People’s Daily

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In October 2016, the People’s Daily Overseas Edition (人民日報海外版) signed a cooperation agreement with the Nordic Chinese Times (北歐時報) in Beijing. People’s Daily Editorial Board Member and Overseas Edition Editor-in-Chief Wang Shucheng (王樹成) met with Nordic Chinese Times President He Ru (何儒) to reach what they called a “consensus on in-depth cooperation” (深入合作達成共識). Under the agreement, the Nordic Chinese Times would publish four pages of authorized People’s Daily content in each issue, with distribution centered in Stockholm and reaching across five Nordic countries. The Nordic Chinese Times, founded eight years earlier by the Nordic Chinese Chamber of Commerce (北歐中國商會), claimed it would “tell China’s story well” and “spread China’s voice” (講好中國故事，傳播好中國聲音). Despite positioning itself as a “neutral media” (中立媒體), analysis by the China Media Project found that by 2024, the paper’s “China News” section was sourcing 100 percent of its content from Haiwainet (海外網), the People’s Daily‘s overseas platform.

Euractiv Runs External Propaganda from China’s MFA

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On July 11, the European news outlet Euractiv published an article labeled as “Advertiser Content” and authored by “Xin Ping Mission of China to the EU” that presented Chinese government propaganda arguing that Taiwan was legally and historically an inseparable part of China. The piece cited UN Resolution 2758, post-WWII agreements including the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations, and bilateral treaties to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, dismissing any claims of Taiwanese independence as “ridiculous” and “dangerous revisionism.” While the byline claimed “Xin Ping is a commentator on international affairs,” this writer is not a human being but rather an official pen name used by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency for opinion pieces, particularly on China-EU relations, and the author was explicitly identified as representing China’s Mission to the EU — making clear that this was official Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs propaganda published through Euractiv’s paid content arrangement.

Chinese Ambassador Runs Articles in South Sudan Media

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Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan Ma Qiang (馬強) published an article titled “Working Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind” in several South Sudanese media outlets including The Dawn (黎明報) newspaper, City Review (城市評論報), and Juba Echo (朱巴回聲網) on January 15, 2024. The article highlights President Xi Jinping’s concept of building a “community of shared future for mankind” (人類命運共同體), which was first proposed in 2013 during Xi’s address to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Ambassador Ma emphasized China’s commitment to global cooperation and described ongoing China-Africa partnerships, including infrastructure projects like railways and ports. He specifically noted China-South Sudan cooperation in oil, broadcasting facilities, and the Clement Mboro Bridge (克萊門特·姆博羅大橋) project in Wau. Ma stated that China has responded to South Sudanese President Kiir’s call to shift assistance “from humanitarian to developmental areas” and mentioned upcoming implementation of several projects including the Juba Teaching Hospital (朱巴教學醫院) phase two and water well drilling initiatives.

Chinese Ambassador Featured in Bengali Newspaper

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Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang (馬明強) gave a joint media interview published on the front page of one of Bangladesh’s largest Bengali-language newspapers Prothom Alo (প্রথম আলো) on October 1, 2017. The interview covered China-Bangladesh relations following President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) October 2016 state visit, which Ma described as “historic”. During the visit, both countries elevated ties to strategic partnership status and signed over 20 cooperation agreements covering energy, power, maritime affairs, security, and climate change. Ma claimed the visit “brought over 400 million US dollars in investment” and that “Bangladesh will board the express train of China’s economic development.” He outlined cooperation progress under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge No. 8 (中孟友誼八橋), Payra coal-fired power plant (帕亞拉燃煤電站), and Chittagong Chinese Industrial Park (吉大港中國工業園區). Ma emphasized China’s role as Bangladesh’s largest trading partner, though he incorrectly stated bilateral trade reached $79.8 billion in the first half of 2017—actual full-year 2017 trade was approximately $12 billion. The interview highlighted expanding people-to-people exchanges, including over 1,000 Chinese scholarships for Bangladeshi students and the establishment of a second Confucius Institute at Dhaka University (達卡大學).

StarTimes Media and NRTA Sign Content Sharing Agreement

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China’s National Radio and Television Administration (國家廣播電視總局) and StarTimes Media Kenya signed a media cooperation agreement in Nairobi on July 1, 2024. NRTA Deputy Director Dong Xin (董新), who previously served as China Mobile CEO before his appointment to the media regulator in January 2024, said the deal would “help build bridges of friendship and mutual understanding” through content sharing, according to state media. The event launched “China TV Theater” and included a licensing agreement with Kenya’s Citizen Television for the drama series “Welcome to Milele Village” (歡迎來到麥樂村), which tells the story of Chinese medical teams working in Africa. Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Edward Kisiang’ani said they hoped for “two-way exchanges” where “Kenyan content will also be viewed in China,” as reported by the outlet. The NRTA, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department, actively promotes China’s international media partnerships through state-controlled entities and cultural exchanges.

CCP Media Group Launches Column in German Paper

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China Media Group (CMG) (中央廣播電視總台) and Germany’s Berliner Zeitung (柏林日報) launched a new column in November 2024 called “China Perspective,” featuring articles by CMG reporters. The column’s first piece, published on November 16, analyzed Volkswagen’s factory closures while highlighting China’s developments in electric vehicles. A second article, published on November 30, discussed the C919 commercial airliner and promoted Beijing’s narrative that China is “becoming an important global player” in aviation, citing developments in fighter jets and transport aircraft. CMG, which is under direct control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, frames this collaboration as providing Germans with “a new channel to understand China.” In reality, this partnership represents what analysts have identified as China’s “borrowed boat” strategy—a documented approach of utilizing foreign media platforms to advance state messaging internationally through content placement arrangements.