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Activity Type: Media Partnership or Co-Production

Chinese Ambassador Praises CCP Meeting in Portuguese Media

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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.

CMG Signs Deal With Greek Media at Bilateral Dialogue

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On October 30, 2023, China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) hosted a “China-Greece Belt and Road Dialogue” (中國希臘”一帶一路”對話會) in Athens. The event was attended by former Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who served as president from 2015 to 2020, China Media Group President Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), who has headed the umbrella state media organization since 2018, Greek Tourism Minister Vasilis Kikilias, who served in that role from August 2021 to March 2023, and Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng (肖軍正). During the event, CMG signed a cooperation memorandum with Greece’s largest financial media outlet, Shipping and Business News (航運與商業報), covering international news reporting and financial content collaboration. CMG also exchanged an agreement with the Greek satellite platform NOVA to broadcast CGTN English and Documentary channels in Greece. Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni (麗娜·門佐尼) announced plans for a comprehensive cooperation memorandum with CMG covering multiple joint cultural projects.

Italy and China Renew Film Co-Production Agreement

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On February 2, 2026, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli signed a film co-production agreement in Beijing with Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), president of China Media Group and a deputy director of the Central Propaganda Department. The agreement aims to facilitate joint film productions between Italian and Chinese companies, allowing co-produced works to qualify as domestic content in both countries, which might allow Italian co-productions to bypass China’s foreign film quota system. The agreement followed the June 2025 broadcast of the CMG-produced series “Il Guardiano del Patrimonio” across more than 30 Italian media outlets, a production promoting Xi Jinping’s cultural philosophy that was launched at a ceremony in Rome attended by Shen and Italian Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara.

CMG and Nepal TV Sign Agreement

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On December 3, 2024, the vice president of China Media Group (CMG), Xing Bo (邢博), and a representative from Nepal’s Foreign Ministry signed a cooperation memorandum between CMG and Nepal Television in Beijing during Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s official visit to China. The agreement covers content exchange, joint production, personnel exchanges, and technical cooperation, according to Chinese state media. Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) and Prime Minister Oli witnessed the signing. The deal was one of nine agreements signed during Oli’s December visit.

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.”

China Media Group Signs Cooperation Agreement with Peru

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On November 14, 2024, during Xi Jinping’s state visit to Peru alongside the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting — an annual summit of 21 Asia-Pacific economies — in Lima, China Media Group president Shen Haixiong (慎海雄) signed a memorandum of understanding with Fabricio Valencia Gibaja, Peru’s minister of culture, at the Presidential Palace, according to Peruvian state broadcaster TVPerú. TVPerú described the two-year MOU as covering joint projects in “contemporary art, cultural heritage, media, and the production of television and film content.” The Peruvian government described the MOU as promoting “cultural exchange and mutual learning.” Shen specifically referenced “”two civilizations that share a long history and deeply rooted cultural traditions,” an appropriation of CCP language “civilizational” discourse — sometimes called “Xivilization” by state media — that has been at the center of both foreign policy and legitimacy formation at home since the 20th National Congress of the CCP in October 2022.

China Media Group and Myanmar Radio and Television Unveil Documentary Series “China Walk”

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On December 7, 2024, the state-owned China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) unveiled its new series China Walk (漫步中國). A co-production between CMG and the official Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), the show is scheduled to air on Myanmar’s major TV networks. People’s Daily reported that the program would provide “people of both countries to learn about the cultures and customs and have a better understanding of each other” by taking viewers to tea villages in Yunnan. The series explicitly promotes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Xi Jinping’s signature infrastructure development strategy. CMG was established in 2018 as China’s predominant state broadcaster under direct control of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department, while MRTV serves as Myanmar’s state-run television and radio network under the Ministry of Information.

Sino-Spanish Cultural Exchange Event Held in Madrid

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On July 29, 2024, the China Media Group (CMG) hosted a cultural exchange event in Madrid titled “China’s deepening reform in the new era” as part of Beijing’s broader effort to shape international media narratives following the Third Plenum – a gathering of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party traditionally focused on economic policy. Speakers included Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), CMG president; José Luis Centella, president of the Communist Party of Spain; and Yao Jing (姚敬), Chinese ambassador to Spain. Shen said that China’s reforms would bring “more opportunities” to the world, echoing standard CCP messaging on Chinese modernization. During the event, CMG also announced several cooperation projects, including “A Look at China: Spanish Journalists’ China Tour” (一起看中國:西班牙記者中國), which would bring Spanish reporters to China for media reports on Chinese development; a CGTN digital exhibition on paintings from the Song dynasty; and an invitation for Spanish museums to participate in CMG’s National Treasure (國家寶藏) program, broadcast on CCTV-3 channel, which regularly showcases Chinese cultural highlights. Ten CMG-produced programs promoting Chinese modernization and Sino-Spanish cooperation were scheduled for broadcast across Spanish outlets, including Mediaset, EFE News Agency, and Barcelona Television

Chinese Ambassador Publishes Anti-U.S. Tariff Op-Ed

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On April 30, 2025, Chinese Ambassador to Portugal Zhao Bentang (趙本堂) published a signed article in the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias promoting Beijing’s position against US trade policy. The op-ed characterized American reciprocal tariffs as “hegemonic bullying”  (強權霸凌) following Trump’s April 2 announcement of sweeping global tariffs. Trump initially imposed a 34 percent rate on Chinese goods, which later escalated to 145 percent through tit-for-tat retaliation. Citing Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel’s March visit to Beijing and quoting Xi Jinping, Zhao argued China was defending its rights and international fairness while casting the US as the aggressor.