China Today Turkey Edition Launches

On November 16, 2010, the Turkish edition of China Today magazine was officially launched in Ankara. According to the publisher, Turkey’s Dijitek Grup, approximately 70 percent of the Turkish edition’s content would be sourced from three Chinese state media outlets — Beijing Review (北京週報), China Today (今日中國), and China Pictorial (人民畫報) — while Turkish journalists and analysts would produce the remaining 30 percent. The stated aim was to provide Turkish business readers with information about China’s economy and investment opportunities.  According to a report of the Turkish communication magazine MediaCat, China Today was initially published through a partnership (possibly a printing deal) between Dijitek Grup, a Turkish company, and China International Publishing Group (中國外文局) — a state-owned publishing group operating under the Central Propaganda Department. Chinese officials described the edition as the sixth international print version of the longstanding external propaganda outlet, and claimed it was “the only magazine introducing China in Turkish.” By 2012, Turkuvaz Media Group — a pro-government conglomerate with close ties to President Erdoğan’s administration — had assumed publishing responsibilities. Zhou Mingwei (周明偉), then director of China International Publishing Group, led the delegation and met with Turkish ministers Nihat Ergün and Ertuğrul Günay.