Activity Type: Media Partnership or Co-Production

On April 12, 2021, the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal published a signed article in the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias titled “The Truth about Human Rights Issues in Xinjiang” (關於新疆人權問題的真相). The article reframed the Xinjiang issue as a security matter rather than a human rights concern, characterizing it as one of “anti-violence, counter-terrorism, and anti-separatism” (反暴力、反恐怖主義和反分裂問題), according to the Chinese embassy. The article also claimed that ethnic minority cultures in Xinjiang had been “well preserved” and highlighted economic growth over the previous 60 years. The piece responded to longstanding accusations by Western governments and human rights organizations regarding mass detention, forced labor, and cultural suppression in Xinjiang. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which passed the U.S. Senate in July 2021 and was signed into law in December 2021, prohibited imports of goods from Xinjiang unless importers could prove they were not made with forced labor.

In September 2023, Macau Daily News (澳門日報) signed a cooperation agreement with Portugal’s Global Media Group. Under the agreement, Macau Daily News launched a special section titled “A Window into Chinese Culture” (中國文化之窗) in the group’s newspaper, Diário de Notícias, with the first installment published on September 28, 2023. Macau, a former Portuguese colony that was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999, maintains Portuguese as an official language alongside Chinese. The section appears every Thursday, and covers topics such as Macau’s historical and cultural relations with China and Portugal, prominent figures in Sino-Western cultural exchange, Chinese philosophical thought, traditional festivals, and China’s intangible cultural heritage. Chui Chi Tou (崔志濤), editor-in-chief of Macao Daily News, stated that the partnership aimed to “leverage the unique role of Macao in the cultural exchanges between China and the West,” according to the report. Marco Galinha, then chairman of the board of Global Media Group, described the partnership as an opportunity to expand readership and advance the group’s international strategy.

On June 2, 2016, the People’s Daily (人民日報), China’s official Communist Party newspaper, signed a cooperation agreement with Portugal’s national news agency Lusa in Beijing. Yang Zhenwu (楊振武), who served as president of People’s Daily from April 2014 to April 2018, and Teresa Marques, then president of Lusa’s Administrative Council, attended the signing ceremony. The agreement was signed during a Belt and Road Forum organized by the People’s Daily, part of the newspaper’s annual series of media cooperation forums launched in 2014 to promote collaboration among international media on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (一帶一路). Under the agreement, the outlets pledged to exchange news content and collaborate on Belt and Road reporting, with Marques noting Lusa could contribute coverage across Portuguese-speaking countries in Portugal, Africa, and Asia.

On June 18, 2021, the Chinese Ambassador to Portugal, Zhao Bentang (趙本堂), published a signed article in the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Notícias titled “Why has the Communist Party of China been able to gain power and maintain long-term governance in China?” (中國共產黨為什麼能夠在中國取得政權並長期執政？). The article presented the official Chinese Communist Party narrative on its hundred-year history, arguing that the CCP’s success in recent decades stems from adapting Marxism to Chinese conditions, prioritizing people’s interests over special interest groups, embracing reform and openness, learning from global civilizations, and demonstrating international responsibility through peaceful development and multilateral cooperation.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ In an oft-used CCP argument against concerns stemming from China’s global engagement, Zhao said that China does not “import” foreign models and does not “export” (輸出) the China Model.