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All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

China and Vietnam Hold Audiovisual Exchange in Hanoi

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On April 15, 2025, the “Audio-Visual China · Enter Vietnam” (視聽中國·走進越南) exchange event was held in Hanoi, guided by China’s National Radio and Television Administration’s (國家廣播電視總局) International Cooperation Department (國際合作司) and co-hosted by the Guangxi Autonomous Region Radio and Television Bureau (廣西壯族自治區廣播電視局) and Hanoi Radio and Television Station (河內廣播電視台). Over 100 representatives from media organizations, cultural groups, and universities attended the event themed “Moving Forward Together, Creating the Future Together” (攜手共進，共創未來). The event featured the signing of a cooperation memorandum between Nanning Media Center and Hanoi Radio and Television Station for collaboration in program translation, co-production, cultural exchanges, and personnel exchanges. Activities included promotion of the 7th China-ASEAN Audio-Visual Week translation and broadcasting activities, the launch of the “Spring Melody 2026” cross-border Spring Festival Gala’s Vietnam segment, and interactive exchanges for the China-Vietnam co-produced documentary “Friendship Tree Evergreen.” The timing coincides with 2025, marking the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic relations and the designated “China-Vietnam Humanities Exchange Year.”

CCP Media Group Launches Column in German Paper

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China Media Group (CMG) (中央廣播電視總台) and Germany’s Berliner Zeitung (柏林日報) launched a new column in November 2024 called “China Perspective,” featuring articles by CMG reporters. The column’s first piece, published on November 16, analyzed Volkswagen’s factory closures while highlighting China’s developments in electric vehicles. A second article, published on November 30, discussed the C919 commercial airliner and promoted Beijing’s narrative that China is “becoming an important global player” in aviation, citing developments in fighter jets and transport aircraft. CMG, which is under direct control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, frames this collaboration as providing Germans with “a new channel to understand China.” In reality, this partnership represents what analysts have identified as China’s “borrowed boat” strategy—a documented approach of utilizing foreign media platforms to advance state messaging internationally through content placement arrangements.

CMG Signs Broadcasting Agreement with La Liga

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On September 12, 2024, China Media Group (CMG) and La Liga, the Spanish football league, signed a media cooperation agreement in Beijing. The agreement, signed by CMG President Shen Haixiong (沈海雄) and La Liga President Javier Tebas, granted CMG broadcasting rights for the 2024-25 La Liga season across television and digital platforms. According to CMG, the parties also agreed to cooperate on commercial exchanges and youth football development. Tebas said La Liga wanted to share its operational experience to help “promote the development of the football industry in China.”The signing coincided with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s visit to China, during which he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). 

China and Australia Sign Six Media Cooperation Agreements

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A China-Australia media exchange and cooperation signing ceremony was held in Sydney on May 27, 2016, where six agreements were signed between Chinese and Australian media organizations. Zhou Zongmin (周宗敏), Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Xinhua News Agency (新華通訊社), signed a memorandum of understanding with Bob Carr, Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney and former Australian Foreign Minister. Other agreements included China Daily (中國日報社) with Fairfax Media Group, China Radio International (中國國際廣播電台) with Global CAMG Media, and People’s Daily Online with Australian News Channel. Carr stated that “media cooperation is an important channel for Australia to truly understand China.” The ceremony highlighted what Beijing characterized as the strengthening of bilateral media relationships within the broader China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership framework

Chinese Media Group Signs Deal with Spanish Broadcaster

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On July 27, 2024, China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), or CMG, and Spain’s Mediapro Group (梅迪播集團) signed a cooperation memorandum in Barcelona covering media resource sharing, audiovisual program production, and innovative technology applications. CMG Director Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), who also serves as deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, and Mediapro Chairman Tatxo Benet signed the document. The agreement was positioned alongside the Paris Olympics, where CMG had secured production responsibilities for four sports and was described as “the main broadcasting agency” by Chinese state media. Mediapro, established in 1994 and headquartered in Barcelona, operates across five continents with specialties in sports broadcasting, television, and film production. The Barcelona-based company was described as having “unique advantages” in artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology and as “one of Europe’s most influential media groups” in the CCTV report.

Chinese and Russian Media Expand Cooperation Plans for 2026

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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.

2024 Global South Media Forum Opens in South Africa

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The “Global South Media and Think Tank High-End Forum China-Africa Partners Conference”(全球南方”媒體智庫高端論壇中非夥伴大會)  was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 13-14, 2024, co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency (新華社), the African Union, and Independent Media. More than 200 representatives from more than 160 media outlets, think tanks, and government departments from China and 41 African countries attended, Xinhua reported. Participants discussed building media partnerships to shape international narratives and challenge what the forum characterized as Western dominance over global governance and narrative systems. Independent Media Group Chairman Iqbal Survé (伊克巴爾·瑟弗) — whose companies have come under investigation in recent years for potential state capture and corruption — said the Global South’s call for its “rightful place” (應有之位) in international narratives should not be ignored. In a bylined column in Zambia’s The Star earlier in November 2025, Survé directly appropriated Xi Jinping’s “shared future” discourse to promote greater BRICS cooperation. The Johannesburg forum launched an action plan for coordinating China-Africa media cooperation through joint news coverage, content sharing, journalist training, and collaborative digital platforms.

China Media Group Signs “China Theater” Broadcasting Agreement with Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise

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On July 19, 2018, China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), or CMG, and Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise (塞內加爾國家電視台), or RTS, signed a framework agreement in Dakar to establish a “China Theater” (中國劇場) programming block on RTS, according to a report by international radio broadcaster China Radio International (中國國際廣播電台), or CRI. Gao Shijun (高世軍), head of CMG’s Western Europe bureau (西歐總站), signed on behalf of CMG, while RTS president Racine Talla signed for the Senegalese side. Under the agreement, RTS agreed to broadcast French-dubbed Chinese dramas, documentaries, feature films, and animation produced or translated by CMG. The signing took place at the launch ceremony of the “Chinese Film and Television Africa Screening Plan” (中國影視非洲放映計劃), attended by Zhang Yanbin (張雁彬), special representative of China’s State Council Information Office, who said in remarks that the initiative was timed to coincide with an upcoming state visit by President Xi Jinping to Senegal, and described it as a vehicle for “people-to-people connectivity” as promoted by the Belt and Road Initiative (一帶一路). China’s ambassador to Senegal, Zhang Xun (張迅), also attended, framing the programming block as a contribution to “civilizational exchange” between China and Africa.

Liberia Broadcasting System and China Media Group Sign Partnership Agreement

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The Liberia Broadcasting System and China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) signed a two-year partnership agreement on August 5, 2024, aimed at strengthening media cooperation between China and Liberia. The memorandum of understanding establishes frameworks for content exchange, technical cooperation, and personnel training. LBS Director General Eugene Fahngon emphasized the agreement’s role in boosting “mutual benefit between the two peoples,” while China Media Group Africa Bureau Chief Song Jianing expressed confidence in scaling their collaboration to “new heights.” China Media Group is a state-controlled broadcast group formed in 2018 through the merger of China Central Television, China National Radio, and China Radio International, while LBS is Liberia’s state-owned broadcaster that has previously received significant Chinese technical assistance, including a 10 kW FM transmitter installed by China in 2008.