Europe New Overseas Chinese Network
The Europe New Overseas Chinese Network launched in April 2016 in Nettetal, Germany, with close connections to Chinese state entities. The opening ceremony was attended by Chinese Consul General Tian Qiru (田启儒) from the Düsseldorf consulate, who pledged the consulate’s “full support” for the network’s operations. The network emerged from the German-Chinese Tourism Culture Media Exchange Association (德中旅游文化传媒交流协会), established eight years earlier, which celebrated its anniversary at the same event. The association had organized exchanges including a 2010 visit by German police officials to Beijing. Both organizations received congratulatory messages from numerous Chinese state organs including the Chinese Embassy, the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and various provincial overseas Chinese affairs offices. Wu Zhifen (吴志芬), who leads both groups, stated the network aimed to follow President Xi Jinping’s directives on “media integration,” suggesting the outlet functions as part of China’s state-aligned overseas Chinese media network.
