Skip to main content

Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

Chinese and Russian Media Expand Cooperation Plans for 2026

Written by Editors on .

The 18th meeting of the Media Cooperation Subcommission under the China-Russia Humanitarian Cooperation Committee (中俄人文合作委员会) convened virtually on October 20, 2025, with more than 40 representatives from both nations. News of the meeting was first reported by Rossiyskaya Gazeta (俄罗斯报) a newspaper published by the Russian government. The session was co-chaired by Dong Xin (董昕), the vice director of China’s National Radio and Television Administration (国家广播电视总局), or NRTA, a ministry-level agency under the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department that oversees radio and television enterprises, and by Bella Cherkesova, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Digital Development. Chinese participants included representatives from the Central Propaganda Department, People’s Daily (人民日报), Xinhua News Agency (新华社), and China Media Group (中央广播电视总台). Russian attendees represented the Foreign Ministry, TASS (塔斯社), a Russian government news agency, and Russia Today (RT), Russia’s state-controlled international news television network. The meeting approved plans for more than 70 joint media projects.

All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company

Written by Editors on .

The All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (全俄国家电视广播公司), or VGTRK, is Russia’s largest state-owned media corporation, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Moscow. The broadcaster operates five national television channels, including Rossiya 1 and the 24-hour news channel Rossiya 24, along with six radio stations and 89 regional networks broadcasting in 54 languages across Russia. VGTRK also runs the international channel RTR Planeta, which reaches audiences in the United States, Europe, and China. During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the broadcaster has been accused of spreading propaganda and disinformation. Unlike RT, VGTRK primarily targets domestic Russian audiences. The European Union sanctioned the company in July 2022, and YouTube blocked its channels in 2022 and 2024.

Russian Embassy in China

Written by Editors on .

The Russian Embassy in China (俄羅斯駐華大使館) is the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation in Beijing, representing Russian interests and maintaining bilateral relations between Russia and China. The embassy facilitates political dialogue, consular services, trade relations, and cultural exchanges between the two nations. Russia maintains additional consulates general in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, and Hong Kong to serve its citizens and promote cooperation across multiple regions of China. The embassy plays a central role in coordinating high-level visits, implementing bilateral agreements, and supporting various cooperation mechanisms between Moscow and Beijing. It also provides visa services, assists Russian citizens abroad, and promotes Russian culture and education in China through various programs and initiatives.

SMG Co-hosts 2024 ENEX General Assembly

Written by Editors on .

The 31st ENEX General Assembly convened in Shanghai on September 26, 2024, co-hosted by the European News Exchange (ENEX) and the Shanghai Media Group (上海廣播電視台), or SMG, and organized by SMG International (上海文廣國際傳播中心). SMG International is Shanghai’s local international communication center (國際傳播中心), or ICC, part of Xi Jinping’s push to bring regional media groups into the larger project of national propaganda directed overseas. According to Chinese media, more than 70 delegates from 17 countries and regions gathered for the ENEX General Assembly to discuss the future of media development and transnational cooperation. In his opening remarks, the President of SMG said that global media need more cooperation and that they must “share factual news” (我们需要共享新闻事实) and “jointly capture objective and truthful international news” (共同捕捉客观真实的国际新闻). Far from calls to professionalism, as they might seem, these remarks reference the official view of China’s leadership, which holds that global public opinion is imbalanced against China — and that this state of affairs requires corrective measures. According to ENEX, the discussions centered on challenges facing the media sector, particularly the expanding impact of artificial intelligence and the complexities of covering international conflicts. SMG states that its mission is to build “the best practice ground for ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Culture’” — a reference to the media-related aspects of the CCP leader’s central political ideology — while also “disseminating public opinion and culture.”

Sky News

Written by Editors on .

Sky News is a British television news channel that began broadcasting on February 5, 1989. The network operates as an editorially independent division of Sky UK, whose parent company is Comcast NBCUniversal. Sky News provides 24-hour news coverage across television, digital platforms, and radio, reporting on UK and international stories with correspondents stationed around the world.

Al Arabiya

Written by Editors on .

Al Arabiya (العربية) is a state-owned international Arabic-language television news channel launched on March 3, 2003, in Saudi Arabia, with initial operations based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Founded by the brother-in-law of Saudi King Fahd as a direct response to Al Jazeera’s critical reporting on Saudi Arabia throughout the 1990s, the broadcaster is owned through the Middle East Broadcasting Center, also known as the MBC Group. While MBC Group has identified itself as “the largest and leading private multimedia company in the Middle East North Africa region,” it is 54 percent held by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The channel’s mission from its start was to offer a “balanced and less provocative” alternative to Al Jazeera — meaning more amenable to the interests of the Saudi royal family. Al Arabiya broadcasts a mix of standard news, talk shows, and documentaries, and its website is available in Arabic, English, Urdu, and Persian.

Egmont Group

Written by Editors on .

Founded in 1878 by Egmont Harald Petersen, Egmont is a Nordic media group that began as a printing business in Copenhagen. It operates more than 50 different businesses spanning television, film, publishing, gaming, and digital platforms. In 2012, Egmont acquired full ownership of TV 2 Direkte, having co-founded the broadcaster in 1991. 

European News Exchange

Written by Editors on .

The European News Exchange (ENEX) is an association of commercial television broadcasters established on December 14, 1993, operating as a news-sharing platform where members pool their news content. Beyond content sharing, ENEX also offers technical coordination, satellite distribution services, and media consulting. Initially a technical service for sharing news footage, the organization has evolved into a news provider. In 2022, ENEX had 55 members operating more than 75 channels globally, maintaining partnerships with organizations in Latin America and the Middle East. The organization has also expanded into Asia, with Shanghai Media Group (上海文廣集團) joining the platform. Every year, ENEX holds a general assembly, and in 2024, it convened in Shanghai in partnership with Shanghai Media Group and SMG International (上海文廣國際傳播中心), the group’s international communication center (ICC) tasked — like ICCs across the country formed since 2020 — with carrying out external propaganda and communication work.

Paramount Skydance Corporation

Written by Editors on .

Paramount Skydance Corporation is a major American entertainment conglomerate formed through the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media in July 2024, completed in August 2025. The company, headquartered in New York City, operates across film, television, and streaming platforms, including Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount+. Tencent Holdings (腾讯控股腾讯控股有限公司), the Chinese tech giant, purchased a minority stake in Skydance in 2018 and now owns just under five percent of the merged company. Tencent’s holding drew scrutiny from US lawmakers in early 2025, shortly after the US Department of Defense labeled the tech giant a “Chinese military company.”