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Activity Type: Media Partnership or Co-Production

China and Spain Launch Anniversary Series

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On March 30, 2023, China Media Group and Spain’s Ministry of Culture launched “China-Spain Cultural Journey” (中西文化之旅), a series of programs marking the 50th anniversary of China-Spain diplomatic relations. According to Wen Wei Po, the programs will be broadcast through CGTN and Spanish partners, including TVE, Telemadrid, Televisión de Extremadura, Canal Sur, and Britel Media Group. The initiative includes the documentary “From Beijing to Madrid,” which profiles individuals across politics, economics, sports, and arts to illustrate bilateral cooperation. Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), president of China Media Group; Spain’s minister of culture and sports, Miquel Iceta; China’s ambassador to Spain, Wu Haitao (吳海濤); and Spanish Ambassador to China Rafael Dezcallar, delivered video messages during the launch. Chinese official messaging focused on the Belt and Road Initiative and emphasized “mutual learning among civilizations” (文明互鑒), employing a more recent addition to the CCP lexicon. 

RSS and Xinhua Sign Agreement

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On August 29, 2025, Nepal’s government announced that its cabinet had approved an agreement for its national news agency, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), and China’s Xinhua News Agency to exchange news content. Under the agreement, Xinhua provides RSS with news, photographs, video, and multimedia content in English at no cost. The agreement also included provisions for the exchange of reporters, editors, and technical experts between the two state-owned agencies, along with joint training programs and the sharing of expertise in integrating news technologies. Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung indicated that the agreement would be signed during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to China. 

Chinese Ambassador Pens Article Praising China’s Economy

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On November 24, 2023, Chinese Ambassador to Spain Yao Jing (姚敬) published a signed article in the Barcelona-based newspaper El Periódico advancing China’s economic messaging. Titled “China Will Promote Common Global Development Through High-Level Opening-Up” (中國將以高水平對外開放推動世界共同發展), the piece says China’s growth in the first three quarters of 2023 reached 5.2 percent, which Yao framed as demonstrating the “correctness” of Chinese government policies. He highlighted the opening of the China International Import Expo, positioning China as a contributor to global economic development. Despite targeting a foreign audience, the article was full of official CCP terminologies, including political signaling such as a reference to “the central CCP leadership with Xi Jinping as the core” (習近平同志為核心的黨中央). 

China-Iraq Short Video Competition Held

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On January 19, the third annual China-Iraq Short Video Competition held its awards ceremony online. The competition was organized by China National Petroleum Corporation (中國石油天然氣集團公司) Middle East Company alongside Dubai’s China-Arab TV and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Iraq. Reports from official state media said the competition, now in its third year, received 389 entries from “Chinese enterprises, young students, and university scholars” in Iraq under the theme “Light of Two Rivers: Seeing Each Other, Illuminating the World.” Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Cui Wei (崔巍), who was appointed in 2022, attended. The grand prize reportedly went to “I Study Chinese in Iraq,” documenting Iraqi students learning Chinese at Salahaddin University’s Chinese language department, which opened in 2019, and their emotional farewell to departing teacher Hu Zhiwei (胡志偉).

Zhejiang Province and Portugal’s RTP Sign Film Cooperation Agreement

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On October 11, 2024, officials from Zhejiang Province and Portugal’s public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) reported signing a cooperation agreement on film and television at RTP headquarters in Lisbon. Zhao Cheng (趙承), a member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and head of the province’s propaganda office, attended alongside Nicolau Santos, who was appointed as RTP’s president in 2021. The agreement was characterized as strengthening cultural ties and expanding the international reach of content to European audiences, according to promotional material. Chen Guangsheng, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, also attended the ceremony.

Ningbo Photography Exhibition Held in Spain

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On September 26, 2025, the “Ningbo Through the Lens” (光影裡的寧波) photography exhibition opened at the China Cultural Center in Madrid, Spain. The photo exhibition was organized by the Ningbo International Communication Center (寧波市對外傳播中心) and China International Publishing Group’s Central and Eastern Europe and Central and South Asia Communication Center (中東歐與中南亞傳播中心). The Ningbo ICC is a city-level body under the local propaganda office and state-run media groups charged with shaping international narratives about Ningbo and China. CICG is a publishing and communication group directly under the Central Propaganda Department. Marcel Leijzer, deputy director of the UN World Tourism Organization’s International Development and Cooperation Department, attended alongside Chinese and Spanish officials. According to Chinese media reports, the exhibition is part of efforts to implement the Action Plan for Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between China and Spain (2025-2028), which was signed during Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s visit to Beijing in April 2025. The plan outlines cooperation in areas including trade, agriculture, technology, and cultural exchanges. The photo exhibition focused on Ningbo’s maritime history and cultural exchanges, and was organized into four themed sections, each with bilingual captions.

RTP and Zhejiang ICC Sign Agreement

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On October 11, 2024, representatives from the Zhejiang International Communication Center (ZICC) and Portugal’s public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) signed a memorandum of understanding to broadcast the Chinese television drama “Just in Time” (時光正好), which follows three women navigating challenges in their personal and professional lives. Established in May 2024 under the guidance of the Zhejiang Provincial Propaganda Office, ZICC has described itself as a “provincial-level ‘central kitchen’ for international communication,” meaning it produces multimedia content intended to serve Xi Jinping’s external propaganda policy of “telling China’s story well.” The ICC is part of a nationwide strategy pushed by the central leadership since 2019, and accelerating since 2022, to enhance the country’s external propaganda and “discourse power” by leveraging the resources of provincial, city and even county-level media and propaganda offices. 

CGTN Airs “China’s Agenda” Programme Across Europe

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In March 2024, the state-run Chinese international broadcaster CGTN organized a series of dialogues across Europe during China’s annual “Two Sessions” (兩會) parliamentary meetings, branded in English as “China’s Agenda” and in Chinese as “Spring in China” (春天裏的中國). The program focused on “Chinese-style modernization” and “New Quality Productive Forces” (新質生產力) — both political terminologies promoted by the Chinese leadership that emphasize innovation-driven economic growth. Hosted by CGTN Europe journalist Juliet Mann, the program aired on March 9, featuring political and business figures from the United States, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Albania, Chile, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. Participants included Bert Hofman, former China country director of the World Bank; Marsela Musabelliu, executive director of the Albanian Institute for Globalization Studies; and Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius, who discussed China as a key market for the automaker. CGTN claimed the content reached 150 million people across 176 Western media platforms. Juliet Mann is represented as an anchor-for-hire by Knight Ayton Management. 

Dataxet Signs Cooperation Deal with Xinhua

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Dataxet (ดาต้าเซ็ต), a Thai media intelligence company, has signed a cooperation agreement with Xinhua News Agency and its affiliate China Economic Information Service (中国经济信息社), or CEIS. Under the agreement, Dataxet will market the Xinhua Silk Road Information Service (新華絲路網) — an information product focused on China’s economy and Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative — to businesses in Thailand. The Xinhua Silk Road Information Service has identified itself in Chinese during public exchanges, including last year’s China-Cyprus-Europe Media Forum, as a “Country-specific External Propaganda Center” (國別外宣中心), clearly indicating its role within China’s official external communication network (archived).