Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

Chinese Ambassador to Italy Meets With AGI General Manager

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

On July 14, 2015, Li Ruiyu (李瑞宇), then China’s ambassador to Italy, met with Alessandro Pica, then general manager of Italian news agency AGI (Agenzia Giornalistica Italia), according to a release from the embassy. Li used standard Chinese trade-diplomacy language, describing closer China-Italy ties as a way to pair China’s manufacturing cost advantage with Italy’s design and technology strengths, and called for joint development of “third-party markets” to achieve a “win-win, or even win-win-win” (雙贏乃至三贏) outcome — phrasing consistent with CCP economic-diplomacy discourse that frames Chinese-led ventures as benefiting not just China and its host country but the global economy more broadly. Li said AGI had long maintained good cooperative relations with Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, and China Radio International, according to the release. Pica said AGI, the only Italian wire service with a Chinese-language edition, aimed to be an active “promoter” (推動者) of China-Italy cooperation rather than just a “witness” (見證者), and said the agency had “close communication and collaboration” with Chinese “mainstream media” (中國主流媒體) on news exchange and joint reporting.

CUC Delegation Meets Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

On June 19, 2026, a Communication University of China (中国传媒大学) delegation led by deputy Party secretary Zheng Peng (郑鹏) met with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (布鲁塞尔自由大学), or VUB, the Dutch-speaking of Brussels’s two public universities, to discuss expanding academic ties. The delegation met with Karin Vanderkerken, VUB’s vice-rector for internationalization and a professor of biomedical sciences who previously oversaw the university’s research infrastructure as vice-rector for research from 2016 to 2022. According to a press release from Communication University of China, the two sides discussed launching a joint doctoral program, folding a Belgian culture week into student exchanges, and arranging short-term visiting scholar placements between the schools. CUC’s international office director, Wang Wenyuan (王文渊), also attended, along with CUC staff currently posted at VUB and an official from the education office of the Chinese embassy in Belgium, which oversees Chinese students studying in the country. CUC also runs its own Institute for a Community with Shared Future (人类命运共同体研究院), a think tank that a CMP report on China’s external propaganda architecture in 2025 identified as one arm of a coordinated national effort to embed Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s foreign policy concepts into international scholarship, operating more than 20 overseas research centers in partnership with universities and state media abroad.

Budapest Radio Station Interrupted Broadcast for CRI Programming During Chinese State Visit

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

On June 24, 2011, Budapest’s classical-music radio station Klasszik Radio halted its regular programming and aired Chinese state-produced content timed precisely to the arrival of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), the first visit to Hungary by a Chinese premier in 24 years, investigative Hungarian outlet Direkt36 reported. Former senior editor Viktor Hankó said the order originated directly from China Radio International (中國國際廣播電台), or CRI, the CCP-controlled international broadcaster, which in 2018 was brought under the China Media Group (CMG). Klasszik Radio was reportedly phoned by CRI representatives less than 48 hours before Wen’s arrival and sent prepared material on China’s history and Sino-Hungarian relations for the station to air. Referring to Wen Jiabao’s motorcade, Hankó told Direkt36 that the goal was “to show to that one guy sitting in his limousine that there are Chinese broadcasts even on Hungarian radio.” The same broadcast instructions were delivered to GBTimes Oy (環球時代傳媒公司), the Finnish-registered firm with which Klasszik had partnered in December 2010, selling it part of its airtime. GBTimes Oy also acted in the interest of China Radio International. Four years later, a 2015 Reuters investigation identified Klasszik among the stations in GBTimes Oy’s European network carrying CRI-linked programming through a China-based subsidiary of CRI. GBTimes Oy CEO Zhao Yinong (趙亦農) told Reuters that CRI paid his company “several million euros” a year to produce China-friendly radio content. Chinese officials later told Klasszik staff that Wen was pleased with the broadcast, according to the Direkt36 report.

GBTimes Oy

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

GBTimes Oy (環球時代傳媒有限公司) is a Tampere-based Finnish media company producing China-related radio, print, and online content for European audiences. According to its own About Us page, the outlet was founded as Radio86 in 2004 and has “gradually worked to become the web’s most extensive China-related information base,” publishing news, travel, politics, food, history, and entertainment content in 11 languages, including English, Finnish, Swedish, and Chinese. GBTimes was formally registered as a Finnish company in 2007. In 2015, independent researcher Jichang Lulu told Reuters in 2015 that the network’s aim was “selling China’s story to the world” while “portray[ing] the content as coming from an independent party.” GBTiimes Oy CEO Zhao Yinong (趙亦農) told Reuters that CRI paid his firm “several million euros” annually, more than half its revenue, to produce local-language programming. When Reuters asked why CRI was working through private companies abroad, he defended the practice, saying there was no “no difference” between his operation and the US government-funded Voice of America (VOA). According to a separate Reuters report, a 60 percent stake in the Finnish company was held by a subsidiary of state broadcaster China Radio International (中國國際廣播電台). GBTimes Oy was part of a broader global network of 33 CRI-linked radio stations across 14 countries, “from Finland to Nepal to Australia, and from Philadelphia to San Francisco,” including a counterpart in Australia run by Melbourne-based media proprietor Tommy Jiang (姜兆慶) through Global CAMG Media. Four Corners, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation program, reported that CAMG’s radio stations functioned as an overseas outlet for Chinese state messaging and that Jiang was a major donor to Australia’s two main political parties.

ISCOM

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

ISCOM, or the Institut Supérieur de Communication, is a private French institution that trains students for careers in communications and advertising, with eight campuses across France. According to ISCOM’s own description of the school, it combines academic coursework with practical, hands-on training built on ongoing partnerships with industry professionals. Caroline Grassaud has directed the school’s Paris campus since 2023. In June 2026, Grassaud signed a cooperation agreement with the Communication University of China (中国传媒大学), arranging a student exchange tied to the Chinese university’s School of Advertising and Brand Communication. ISCOM is marking its 40th anniversary this year.

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (布鲁塞尔自由大学), or VUB, is a Dutch-speaking public research university in Brussels, Belgium. According to the university’s own account of its history, it traces its roots to the Free University of Brussels, founded in 1834 by lawyer Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen as a secular alternative to church-run higher education, which split along linguistic lines in 1969 into VUB and the French-speaking Université libre de Bruxelles. VUB became a fully independent institution in 1970. The university enrolls roughly 22,000 students across eight faculties and campuses in Etterbeek, Jette, Anderlecht, and Pajottegem. VUB previously hosted a Confucius Institute, a Chinese state-funded language and culture program, established in 2015 and shut down in 2019 after Belgian security services accused its director of working as a recruiter for Chinese intelligence.

Klasszik Radio

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

Klasszik Rádió is a private commercial station that began broadcasting classical music in Budapest on December 1, 2009, and airs different types of classical music content alongside Hungarian and English-language news. In December 2010, the station partnered with GBTimes, a Finnish-registered but Chinese-owned distributor tied to China Radio International (CRI), selling part of its airtime. On June 24, 2011, it halted regular programming to air Chinese state-produced content timed precisely to the arrival of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), the first visit to Hungary by a Chinese premier in 24 years, investigative Hungarian outlet Direkt36 reported.

Copenhagen Post

Written by Editors on July 6, 2026.

The Copenhagen Post is an English-language newspaper in Denmark, providing daily newsletters and online news. Founded in 1997, the post is today published by The Post ApS. The Post receives subsidies to support its work from the Agency for Culture and Palaces (Mediestøtte) under the government, and its operation is regulated under the Danish Media Liability Act.