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ON Media and CMG Sign Cooperation Agreement

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

On November 3, 2025, during Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s visit to China, MTS Media, the Russian entertainment holding that operates the KION streaming platform and later rebranded as ON Media, and China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), or CMG, signed a cooperation agreement. The agreement provided for an exchange of expertise and best media practices between the two companies, and for the joint development of special projects dedicated to strengthening Russian-Chinese cooperation and “friendship,” a term the CCP frequently invokes to frame bilateral ties with select partner states. MTS Media general director Sofya Mitrofanova said the agreement with CMG opened “an entirely new level” of the holding’s presence in the international media market. Before leading MTS Media, Mitrofanova held senior roles at Gazprom-Media Holding, including as director of digital transformation, and at the streaming platforms Ivi, Okko, and Premier.

VGTRK and CMG Sign Documentary Cooperation Memorandum

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

On May 8, 2025, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia, which coincided with Moscow’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II, the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) and China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), or CMG, signed a memorandum on deepening cooperation, according to the Kremlin’s official list of documents signed and adopted that day. The agreement was one of 28 such documents, which also included two joint statements on strategic partnership and global stability, and a cluster of other Russia-China media memoranda signed the same day involving National Media Group, RT, Rossiya Segodnya, and Lomonosov Moscow State University. The Kremlin’s published list does not detail the VGTRK-CMG agreement’s specific provisions beyond its general subject.

National Media Group and China Daily Sign Content Deal

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

On May 20, 2026, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Beijing, National Media Group (國家媒體集團) signed a cooperation agreement with China Daily (中國日報), the CCP’s English-language state newspaper. According to National Media Group, the agreement provides for the exchange of news content and exclusive materials, along with editorial coordination on promoting shared coverage topics. The two sides also agreed to jointly promote the English-language edition of Izvestia, a National Media Group-owned newspaper that the European Commission suspended from broadcasting in the EU in May 2024 over its role in supporting and justifying Russia’s war against Ukraine, to international audiences through China Daily‘s platforms. National Media Group general director Svetlana Balanova, who is personally sanctioned by the EU and Switzerland in her capacity as head of NMG and of the Public Council under Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulator, said the agreement would help the two organizations “create modern standards for working with information in a digital environment” for international audiences.

Russia’s Financial University and CMG Sign Cooperation Memorandum

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

On May 20, 2026, on the sidelines of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), or CMG, signed a memorandum of cooperation covering three areas. In mass communication, the agreement provides for joint production of news reports, thematic programs, and short videos, along with the exchange of related materials. In science, it covers cooperation on news broadcasting and media technology, along with joint research projects and seminars. In culture, it covers joint exhibitions, events, and competitions. A Financial University official said the memorandum with what they called “one of the world’s largest media groups” opened new horizons for the university. The memorandum seems to mark a new commitment to producing broadcast and media content outside the core academic mission of the Financial University, a Moscow-based state institution focused on training economists, financiers, and lawyers.

Government of the Republic of Kenya

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

Kenya, an East African republic, holds regular multiparty elections, but the monitoring organization Freedom House reports that pervasive corruption and brutality by security forces remain serious problems despite a vibrant media and civil-society sector. Kenya established diplomatic relations with China in 1963, and the two governments elevated ties to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” during a state visit by Kenyan President William Ruto to Beijing in April 2025. State-to-state media cooperation dates back decades. In 2023, Xinhua News Agency invited the government-run Kenya News Agency (KNA) to cooperate in countering what both sides characterized as Western “fake news.” A release from KNA said the sides would “spearhead countering fake news and propaganda by reporting facts based on research to build a true image of the two nations that were victims of western colonial masters.” Kenya and China also pledged renewed news-exchange agreements ahead of Ruto’s 2025 state visit. Kenya became a founding member of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization in July 2026.

Government of the Republic of Tajikistan

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

The Republic of Tajikistan is a Central Asian state that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. China and Tajikistan established diplomatic relations on January 4, 1992, and the relationship has been upgraded over time, reaching a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s 2024 state visit to the capital city of Dushanbe. Media cooperation between the two governments has included a 2024 event in which China Media Group and Tajikistan’s state-run Khovar News Agency and TV Sinamo jointly staged a program-exhibition event in Dushanbe. CMG President Shen Haixiong describing the programming as deepening “the emotional bond between the two countries.” In July 2026, Tajikistan became a founding member of the China-proposed World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization.

Financial University Under the Government of the Russian Federation

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

The Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, initially named the Moscow Institute of Economics and Finance, was established by the People’s Commissariat of Finance, the Soviet Union’s financial governing body, in 1918. The university is wholly state-owned, with the Government of the Russian Federation as its sole founder, and its rector is appointed by direct government decree rather than through an independent academic process. The university has evolved into a research and academic complex with eight faculties across 27 campuses. In 2026, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China, the university signed a cooperation agreement with China Media Group outlining collaboration on culture, research, and mass communication, including the co-production of news and short videos.

Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

Brazil, formally the Federative Republic of Brazil, is South America’s largest state, governed under a constitution promulgated in 1988. China and Brazil established diplomatic relations on August 15, 1974, and Brazil became the first Latin American country to enter a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Beijing. Media ties run through Brazil’s state broadcaster: Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) signed a content-sharing agreement with China Media Group in 2019, and in April 2023, EBC and Xinhua signed a separate agreement to exchange text and images at no cost, part of a broader package signed during President Lula’s state visit to Beijing. In July 2026, Brazil became a founding member of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization.

Government of the Kyrgyz Republic

Written by Editors on July 20, 2026.

The Kyrgyz Republic, a Central Asian state that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, adopted a parliamentary system after revolutions in 2005 and 2010, but has concentrated power in the presidency since 2021 under Sadyr Japarov, whose government Freedom House says has used courts and extralegal pressure against critics. Relations with China were elevated to a “comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era” in 2025. Media cooperation has been formalized through direct state-agency ties: during a June 2025 summit in Astana, Kyrgyzstan’s Kabar state news agency and China’s Xinhua signed cooperation agreements, alongside publishing-house partnerships. A Media Cooperation Forum followed in Bishkek in 2026, at which Kyrgyz officials and Chinese state-media representatives called for coordinated messaging ahead of an SCO summit. Kyrgyzstan became a founding member of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization in July 2026.