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Activity Type: Placement of PRC Party-State Content

Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Addresses China-EU Trade in Copenhagen Post

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On May 29, 2026, Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰), China’s ambassador to Denmark, published an op-ed in the Copenhagen Post, Denmark’s English media outlet, responding to the question of whether Europe lost its economic momentum as China’s trade surplus with the EU last year rose to nearly USD 300 billion. Wang argued that “the reality is not as it seems,” and that “the evolution of the China-EU trade landscape is a natural consequence of globalization and industrial upgrading.” Wang suggested that criticism of the imbalance overlooked what he called “mutual benefit.” Wang also listed the “multi-structural factors” that he said led to the trade imbalance, including the EU’s policy adjustments in response to the energy landscape following the Ukraine crisis, and controls on exports of technology products. The ambassador underscored what China has seen as “discriminatory and exclusionary” legal amendments that he said are “undermining” EU-China trade relations. He called for the EU to “embrace China” to create a “win-win partnership” rather than making it a “zero-sum” game — this being a framing used consistently by China to characterize its global trade relationships as broadly beneficial. During the first quarter of 2026, the EU’s trade deficit with China reached its highest level since 2022.

Budapest Radio Station Interrupted Broadcast for CRI Programming During Chinese State Visit

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On June 24, 2011, Budapest’s classical-music radio station Klasszik Radio halted its regular programming and aired Chinese state-produced content timed precisely to the arrival of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), the first visit to Hungary by a Chinese premier in 24 years, investigative Hungarian outlet Direkt36 reported. Former senior editor Viktor Hankó said the order originated directly from China Radio International (中國國際廣播電台), or CRI, the CCP-controlled international broadcaster, which in 2018 was brought under the China Media Group (CMG). Klasszik Radio was reportedly phoned by CRI representatives less than 48 hours before Wen’s arrival and sent prepared material on China’s history and Sino-Hungarian relations for the station to air. Referring to Wen Jiabao’s motorcade, Hankó told Direkt36 that the goal was “to show to that one guy sitting in his limousine that there are Chinese broadcasts even on Hungarian radio.” The same broadcast instructions were delivered to GBTimes Oy (環球時代傳媒公司), the Finnish-registered firm with which  Klasszik had partnered in December 2010, selling it part of its airtime. GBTimes Oy also acted in the interest of China Radio International. Four years later, a 2015 Reuters investigation identified Klasszik among the stations in GBTimes Oy’s European network carrying CRI-linked programming through a China-based subsidiary of CRI. GBTimes Oy CEO Zhao Yinong (趙亦農) told Reuters that CRI paid his company “several million euros” a year to produce China-friendly radio content. Chinese officials later told Klasszik staff that Wen was pleased with the broadcast, according to the Direkt36 report.

Chinese Ambassador to Estonia Gives Interview to The Baltic Times

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In November 2025, Guo Xiaomei (郭曉梅), China’s ambassador to Estonia, gave an interview to the Baltic Times on China-EU relations, trade, and Taiwan. Guo pushed back against the European Commission’s de-risking strategy, a policy articulated in 2023 aimed at reducing the EU’s critical dependencies on China, claiming that halting cooperation would endanger the relationship. “In our view, failure to cooperate is the greatest risk, and failure to develop is the greatest insecurity,” she wrote. These remarks echoed the CCP’s vision of rights and development globally, holding that development — largely meaning economic growth — should be prioritized over human rights and democracy. On the question of Taiwan, she warned that opening any representative office in Tallinn would breach the Joint Communiqué signed on September 11, 1991, establishing China-Estonia ties. Estonia’s government had decided in November 2023 to allow a non-diplomatic Taipei office, though as of late 2025, the office had not yet opened.

Global Times Hosts Dialogue in Brussels

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On January 27, 2026, the Global Times (環球時報), a CCP-controlled tabloid founded in 1993 under People’s Daily (人民日報), the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, co-hosted a media and think-tank forum in Brussels titled “Global Dialogue – China-EU Resonance.” Co-organizers were the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics (對外經濟貿易大學) and the Brussel’s based but China-linked Institute for China-Europe Studies. The forum, framed around the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations, brought together what the Global Times described as “dozens of guests” from Chinese and European think tanks, media outlets, and business communities. However, a full participant’s list cannot be found online. Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Fei Shengchao (費勝潮) and a representative of the Chinese Mission to the EU both delivered speeches conveying the standard CCP narrative that there are “no fundamental conflicts of interest” between China and the EU. This concept is routinely used by Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, despite real underlying differences over such issues as human rights concerns in China, the government’s policies in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The forum also featured the release of a poll from the Global Times Institute, a research unit under the media outlet, that purported to show that people in the EU have confidence in future trade and are interested in high-tech and digital cooperation. The poll was reportedly conducted between October and November 2025 across 20 EU member states as well as inside China — with more than 16,000 respondents, according to the Global Times. Unlike professional surveys like those conducted by Pew Research, the questionnaire for the survey was not made public, and the Global Times Institute did not explain its methodology. Polls are highly politicized in China, where the CCP’s policy is to “guide” public opinion, not to measure it objectively.

Chinese Embassy Places Content in Two Icelandic Media

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On October 1, 2019, the Chinese Embassy in Iceland collaborated with two Icelandic publications — the daily newspaper Morgunblaðið and the Icelandic Times — to mark the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The embassy produced an eight-page Icelandic supplement and a 38-page English special edition containing data on China’s development and articles on bilateral relations. Ambassador Jin Zhijian (金智健) used these platforms to state China’s positions on the “Belt and Road” initiative, Arctic policy, and trade friction. The publications included interviews and articles from Icelandic figures, including the former president and the Minister of Education, Science, and Culture. This cooperation serves as a regional example of the “borrowed boat” (借船出海) strategy, where the Chinese Communist Party utilizes established foreign media outlets to disseminate its official narratives and policy perspectives to a local audience.

Xi Pens Article in Cambodian Newspaper During Visit

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President Xi Jinping (習近平) published a signed article in three Cambodian media outlets on April 17, 2025, during his state visit to Cambodia (柬埔寨). The article appeared in the Khmer Times (高棉時報), Jian Hua Daily (柬華日報), and the Fresh News website (新鮮新聞網). This media engagement was part of Xi’s three-nation Southeast Asian tour amid U.S.-China trade tensions, with the article first reported by Xinhua News Agency. Titled “Working Together for Mutual Success” (雙向奔赴、相互成就), the article highlights China-Cambodia relations spanning nearly 2,000 years and their “ironclad friendship” (鐵杆友誼). Xi outlined cooperation frameworks in politics, economics, security, culture, and strategy, while reaffirming China’s support for Cambodia’s sovereignty and development path. The visit concluded a regional tour that emphasized resistance to protectionism as both countries face significant U.S. tariffs.

Honduran State TV Airs CGTN Program Amid Diplomatic Shift

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On March 26, 2023, just hours after Honduras severed ties with Taiwan, the Chinese international state broadcaster CGTN (中國國際電視台) aired a special program on Canal Ocho (第八頻道), Honduras’s state-owned “Channel 8.” The program, clearly prepared well in advance of the shift of diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the PRC, revealed the diplomatic role played by Chinese state media in the transition. CGTN operates under China Media Group (中國媒體集團), the state-run conglomerate directly under the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (中央宣傳部). CMG subsequently established a permanent bureau in Tegucigalpa, while Xinhua News Agency (新華社) opened a local office positioned as a hub for Central American operations. Shortly afterward, 30 Honduran journalists participated in a ten-day, all-expenses-paid tour of China under Foreign Ministry supervision — consistent with Beijing’s post-recognition media engagement strategy across the region.

Xi Pens article for Serbian Media

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On May 7, 2024, the Serbian newspaper Politika published a signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) titled “May the Light of Our Ironclad Friendship Shine on the Path of China-Serbia Cooperation” (願中塞鐵桿友誼之光照亮中塞合作之路). The placement of the article corresponded with Xi’s state visit to Serbia. In the article, Xi emphasized the “ironclad friendship” between China and Serbia, highlighting mutual support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. The article also referenced the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia during a NATO aerial bombing campaign on May 7, 1999, which killed three Chinese journalists. Xi’s article referred to the bilateral relationship emotively as a “friendship forged in fresh blood” (中塞两国人民用鲜血凝成的友谊).

Xinhua and Diario El Salvador Launch Joint Media Compendium

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On September 27, 2024, the state-funded Diario El Salvador and China’s Xinhua News Agency formally presented a joint publication titled “Reportajes de encuentros: la relación China-El Salvador” (Encounter Reports: The China-El Salvador Relationship). A related promotion appeared on Diario El Salvador‘s Instagram account. The presentation took place at the editorial offices of Diario El Salvador and was attended by its editorial director, Luis Laínez. The compendium features reports from Salvadoran journalists who traveled to China, alongside Xinhua content translated for a local audience covering sectors like technology, electromobility, and infrastructure. The event coincided with the 75th anniversary of the PRC and the 6th anniversary of bilateral ties, serving as a formalization of content-sharing between the two state-aligned entities.