Established in 2018 as the Chongqing International Communication Center (重慶國際傳播中心) to serve as the “main force” for the city’s overseas promotion, the center was upgraded in 2023 as the Western International Communication Center (西部国际传播中心), or WICC. It is operated by the Chongqing Daily News Group (重庆日报报业集团) under the guidance of the municipality’s provincial-level propaganda office. The center manages iChongqing — a multi-platform media network targeting international audiences through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms censored within China itself. The center claims to have “expanded Chongqing’s overseas influence” through its foreign-language content, with officials reporting that Chongqing’s international exposure ranks “fifth nationally” and “first in western China.”It describes itself as China’s first provincial-level international communication center and bills itself as a hub for international communication serving western China and facing the world. The center runs a “3+X” content matrix built around three platforms: the iChongqing English-language website, the Bridging News app, and the Let’s Meet online TV program, which is co-produced with Chongqing Satellite TV. The WICC claims more than 24 million overseas users and over 4.74 billion total views across its platforms, according to the center. It is part of Xi Jinping’s broader drive, accelerating from 2021, to leverage provincial and municipal media resources and propaganda offices in a centrally directed campaign to “tell China’s story” to global audiences. In April 2025, the WICC expanded its overseas distribution network by launching a dedicated Let’s Meet channel on Sri Lanka Mirror, a Colombo-based news outlet, marking what iChongqing described as the platform’s first overseas “station.”