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All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

CMG Donates Media Equipment to Antigua Broadcasting Service

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On May 29, 2024, the China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) donated digital video cameras and broadcasting equipment to the Antigua Broadcasting Service (ABS), the state-controlled broadcaster of Antigua and Barbuda. The formal handover ceremony in Saint John’s was attended by Antigua’s ministers and the Chinese Ambassador. The Ambassador said the donation would “greatly promote media cooperation between the two countries” and improve reporting capabilities — employing a standard CCP foreign relations frame that emphasizes bilateral “cooperation” as a vehicle for deepening ties and influence. The donation, however, raised concerns over possible Chinese manipulation.

CMG Signs Cooperation Agreement with Venezuelan Communication Ministry

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On September 13, 2023, the China Media Group ( 中央廣播電視總台), or CMG, and Venezuela’s Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information (Minci) signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing. The signing took place during Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s state visit to China and was witnessed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Maduro. The president of China Media Group and  Venezuela’s communication minister signed the agreement. According to Chinese state media, the agreement established mechanisms for cooperation in content exchange, program co-production, technical innovation, market development, and personnel exchanges, which related reports characterized as strengthening the China-Venezuela “all-weather strategic partnership” through media collaboration.

NRTA Holds Media Seminar for Global South Journalists in Beijing

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African journalists from seven Belt and Road countries participated in a two-week new media training seminar in Beijing from October 17-30, 2025, organized by China’s National Radio and Television Administration (國家廣播電視總局), a ministry-level agency controlled by the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Department. Media professionals from The Gambia, Barbados, Panama, Jordan, Botswana, Turkey, and Nigeria attended sessions covering international communication, digital platform trends, content development, and intellectual property creation. An official from the NRTA’s International Cooperation Department opened the seminar by outlining Chinese cultural values and governance philosophy, emphasizing the growing influence of new media on public opinion, according to The Point. Participants also visited the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall and explored topics such as the current digital media environment.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ The event was organized by the Research Training Institute under the NRTA.

China Media Group and Malaysia’s RTM Sign Broadcast Partnership

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Malaysia and China signed a memorandum during Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s (李強) three-day official visit to Malaysia in June 2024, establishing cooperation between Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) and China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台). Malaysian Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching (張念群) announced on Facebook that the memorandum aims to “strengthen, promote and develop” bilateral cooperation in broadcasting, media, and creative industries. She claims the agreement will diversify media resources between the countries and deepen exchanges. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations, the two broadcasters have jointly produced a documentary titled “Our Story” that reportedly showcases bilateral friendship through the narrative of a giant panda’s growth between the two countries. This agreement continues China’s pattern of formalizing media partnerships with state broadcasters in strategically important nations, with China Media Group operating under direct control of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department.

China Media Group Co-hosts Event at UN Headquarters

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On August 13, 2025, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations and the state-run China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) co-hosted a cultural exchange event at the United National Headquarters in New York to commemorate the the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War — China’s language for the end of World War II. In remarks to the event, called “Echoes of Peace,” Fu Cong (傅聰), the PRC’s permanent representative to the UN, said China was “proud to be the first country to sign the United Nations Charter,” a statement obscuring the fact that it was the Republic of China (ROC), the current government of Taiwan, that originally signed the Charter in 1945. Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), president of China Media Group, delivered video remarks stating the event aimed to “promote the correct historical view of World War II.” According to Shen, the correct view meant recognizing “the united front against Japanese aggression advocated and established under the banner of the Chinese Communist Party.” The remarks highlighted a key propaganda aspect of 80th anniversary celebrations organized by China, which were meant to rewrite the history of China’s war of resistance to define the CCP’s role as primary — and the CCP, by extension, as a key founder of the UN system.

CMG Inks Media and Tourism Deals in Hungary

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On May 10, 2024, China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台) signed agreements with two Hungarian institutions during President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) state visit to Hungary. The agreements were signed by Shen Haixiong (慎海雄), deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party and director of China Media Group, with the Hungarian Media Services Support and Asset Management Fund and the Hungarian Tourism Agency. Xi and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (維克多·奧班) “witnessed” the signing ceremony, and the agreements were “included in” the list of outcome documents from Xi’s state visit from May 8-10. The memorandums aim to strengthen cultural exchanges through news information exchange, joint program production, and media technology exchange. The Hungarian Media Fund oversees state-owned media outlets, including Hungarian National Television and Radio, while the Tourism Agency, led by CEO Könnyid László (柯尼德·拉斯洛), manages Hungary’s tourism promotion efforts.

China Media Group and Atameken Sign Cooperation MOU

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Atameken TV, Kazakhstan’s broadcasting network, signed a cooperation memorandum with the state-run China Media Group on September 2, 2025, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin. The agreement was among 14 bilateral media cooperation deals CMG struck with broadcasters from 13 countries during the summit, covering news reporting, joint programming, cultural activities, technological innovation, industry development, personnel exchanges, and media resource sharing. The CMG partnership with Atameken TV is part of China’s broader efforts to strengthen SCO media cooperation.

CMG Rolls Out Promotional Film Ads in 28 Countries

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China Media Group’s “Thousand Overseas Screens” (海外千屏) program will deploy promotional content for the “China Travel with Chinese Films” (跟著電影遊中國) campaign across more than 600 public screens in 28 countries during 2026, according to a February 4 announcement at a special promotion event in Shenzhen. The initiative, co-hosted by the China Film Administration (CFA) and CMG, places content in high-visibility locations including cinema chains in seven major US cities, shopping centers, and diplomatic venues. Promotional materials feature 2026 Spring Festival films alongside tourism content about filming locations, supporting China’s international communication strategy to present a “credible, lovable, respectable China” (可信、可愛、可敬的中國). The campaign integrates with CMG’s Spring Festival Gala global viewing events and Chinese embassy receptions, demonstrating coordinated party-state soft power deployment through commercial-cultural channels.

Xi Publishes Article in Portuguese Newspaper Ahead of 2018 State Visit

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On December 3, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping published a signed article in Portugal’s weekly newspaper Diário de Notícias titled “Friendship that Transcends Time and Space, Partners for the Future” (跨越時空的友誼 面向未來的夥伴) ahead of his state visit. The article quoted the 16th century Portuguese poet Luís de Camões on Portugal’s geographic position and referenced historical cultural exchanges, including the Portuguese adoption of Chinese silk-making techniques. through Belt and Road initiatives, positioning Portugal as a “key hub” that connects the land and maritime Silk Roads. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is a key component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a major development plan that aims to connect China with the rest of the world. During the visit, Xi and the then-President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa signed a Belt and Road Memorandum of Understanding, making Portugal the first Western European nation to formally join the initiative.