Current Status: Active

Established in 2014 by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the China-Africa Press Center (CAPC) functions as a key component of Beijing’s media diplomacy in Africa. The center invites selected African journalists for 10-month stays in China, combining academic study at prestigious institutions with guided reporting tours of Chinese cities, factories, and government events. While officially described as helping African media “accurately report on China,” the program strategically shapes perceptions by exposing journalists to carefully curated positive aspects of Chinese development. Nigerian journalist Solomon Elusoji, who participated in 2018, noted his initial skepticism transformed after seeing China’s infrastructure, though he maintained that African countries must “make full use” of China-Africa relations. The program shows Beijing’s systematic approach to cultivating favorable media coverage in African countries through direct engagement with journalists.

The Central Propaganda Department (中共中央宣傳部) is the internal office within the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party charged with ideology dissemination, media control and the coordination of propaganda both across China and toward the outside world. The office exercises direct leadership over China’s media control system, including the issuing of “guidance” to newspapers, magazines and online outlets as well as the radio, television, publishing and film industries — ensuring that all outlets, products and initiatives align with party policies. The CPD coordinates with the propaganda offices of local party committees at the provincial, city and county levels. Since the early 1990s, the department has been officially known as the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the CCP, with the use of the word “publicity” an attempt to downplay the deeply political aspect of the office’s daily work.