In one of the world’s strictest media environments, Vietnamese journalists are facing increasing censorship and government pressure over coverage of China’s red line issues — particularly the South China Sea.

Provincial outlets now establish international centers to amplify Beijing’s messaging through regional partnerships.

China and ASEAN launch joint AI media initiative as Beijing expands its technological influence regionally.

As China pursues water diplomacy with countries along the Lower Mekong, seeking to strike a benevolent tone and downplay environmental and livelihood impacts that have concerned local communities, another big tool in its toolbox is media diplomacy.

A training session for Southeast Asian journalists hosted by the foreign affairs office in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang is a reminder that China’s state agendas are being actively pushed not just from the top, but from the local and regional levels as well.