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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau

The Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, or BMRTB (北京市廣播電視局), is the bureau-level regulatory agency directly under the Beijing Municipal People’s Government, originally established in September 1979. In November 2018, the bureau was rebuilt based on the television management responsibilities of the former Beijing Municipal Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television Administration, reflecting China’s broader media regulatory reforms approved through the State Council’s 2018 institutional reorganization plan. The bureau’s primary responsibilities include overseeing local TV and radio stations, supervising television and online video content, managing foreign satellite TV access, and coordinating Beijing’s media industry development programs. The BMRTB operates within China’s media control framework, adhering to the unified leadership of the CCP over radio and television, as with all media.

Montsame and Xinhua Sign Cooperation Agreement

On April 10, 2018, during a visit to China by Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, the Montsame News Agency (蒙古國通訊社) and the Xinhua News Agency (新華通訊社) renewed cooperation in a deal signed by Montsame’s deputy director and Xinhua’s vice president in Beijing. The original partnership between the two began in 1958, when the agencies signed their first news exchange agreement in China’s capital. Since then, both agencies have maintained correspondents in Ulaanbaatar and Beijing and have continued developing their cooperation, state media reported without details. The agencies plan to collaborate in several areas: exchanging news in Chinese, Russian, and English; organizing journalist tours and training sessions; co-hosting photo exhibitions; and providing internships for young reporters.

Chinese Ambassador Interviewed by Swedish Media

On June 2, 2025, the Chinese Ambassador to Sweden Cui Aimin (崔爱民) was interviewed by the Swedish online media outlet NewsVoice to commemorate the 75th anniversary of China-Sweden diplomatic relations. In the interview, the ambassador promoted bilateral cooperation in green technology and trade, defended China’s response to US tariffs, and encouraged Sweden to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and BRICS cooperation mechanisms. He also said that “embracing China is embracing opportunities” and characterized both China and the EU as “victims” of US tariffs. Echoing China’s official position that his country practices “whole-process democracy” (全过程民主), Cui told the outlet that “each country’s democracy has its own features.”

NewsVoice

NewsVoice is a Swedish news website based in Stockholm, founded in 2011. The outlet describes itself as an independent news monitoring channel covering politics, economy, healthcare, science, technology, and culture. In April 2025, NewsVoice announced a partnership with China Daily (中國日報), an English-language newspaper published by the Information Office of China’s State Council, which is effectively the same institution as the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department. The agreement enabled content sharing and provided NewsVoice opportunities to publish in China Daily‘s online edition while reciprocating with the translation of China Daily articles into Swedish. In March 2025, NewsVoice also announced a partnership with TV BRICS (金磚國家電視), a Russia-based media network established in 2017 following the BRICS summit in Xiamen. NewsVoice has also taken part in meetings with representatives from the CCP-backed Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (中國人民爭取和平與裁軍協會), arranged in Sweden by the Schiller Institute, a German-based political and economic think tank that has dialogued closely with China and voiced support for the regime and the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Guangxi Autonomous Region Radio and Television Bureau

The Guangxi Autonomous Region Radio and Television Bureau is the provincial-level government agency responsible for managing broadcast media and internet audiovisual content in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region under the oversight of the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA). The NRTA was established in March 2018 as a ministry-level executive agency controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. The bureau operates under dual leadership from both the provincial CCP committee and the national NRTA, implementing policies for broadcast media regulation, content monitoring, licensing administration, and technology integration. Its functions include enforcing national broadcast propaganda guidelines, developing local management policies, monitoring media content for compliance with state standards, issuing administrative licenses to broadcasters, promoting digital technology integration, and coordinating international media exchanges within the framework of China’s broader media governance structure.

China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum 2025

China hosted the 2025 China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum on September 28, 2025, in Xiamen, bringing together approximately 400 representatives from government agencies, universities, think tanks and news media from China and 32 African countries. The forum, themed “Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace and Writing a New Chapter in China-Africa Digital Cooperation” — drawing on Xi Jinping’s foreign policy notion of “shared destiny” as applied to the internet — was organized by the Cyberspace Administration of China (國家互聯網信息辦公室) and the Fujian Provincial People’s Government (福建省人民政府). Chinese officials unveiled the 2025-2026 Action Plan for Building a China-Africa Cyberspace Community with a Shared Future (携手构建中非网络空间命运共同体行动计划) and established the “China-Africa Internet Enterprise Cooperation Network” (中国在非洲互联网企业合作网络), while announcing continued training programs on cybersecurity and digital economy. The forum featured four sub-forums addressing digital divide reduction and digital transformation, artificial intelligence development and governance, cybersecurity and data governance, and online media cooperation. State media coverage reported that African representatives “endorsed” China’s proposed cooperation initiatives, and said that the forum aligned with African countries’ digital transformation needs and expressing willingness to deepen collaboration with China in digital economy, cybersecurity, data protection, artificial intelligence governance and online media sectors. Such initiatives are generally organized, announced and hosted in a unilateral manner by Chinese government entities, even as the discourse stresses them as bilateral or multilateral in nature. The Xiamen meeting also presented 7 participants from African countries (called “friends”) with certificates under “China Storytelling Partnerships” ( 中国故事共创会), which media said recognized those who work “to tell China’s stories, spread Chinese culture, and show the world a real, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China.” The language echoes China’s official policy on external propaganda.

Chinese Consulate in Kuching and Malaysia’s Sin Chew Daily Launch Reading Initiative

On October 12, 2018, the Chinese Consulate General in Kuching launched the “Love Chinese Language” reading program with Sin Chew Daily (星洲日報). The initiative targeted 222 Chinese primary schools in Sarawak, featuring newspaper reading promotion, language competitions, and wall newspaper design contests. Chinese Consul General Cheng Guangzhong (程廣中) said he hoped the program would help children develop Chinese reading habits and that Malaysian Chinese were “upholding the fine tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education” and “inheriting and developing Chinese language education.” Malaysian Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching (張念群) stated the federal government would take a “more open and enlightened attitude” toward Chinese education. State official Sim Kui Hian (沈桂賢) expressed hope that Chinese universities would establish branch campuses in Sarawak. About 200 people attended the launch at Kuching Chinese Primary School No. 1. The program was reported by Xinhua News Agency as part of efforts to promote Chinese language education development in Malaysia.

Yunnan Hosts China-Cambodia Mid-Autumn Gala

China and Cambodia held a Mid-Autumn Festival cultural gala on September 28, 2025, in Phnom Penh, featuring performances by artists from both countries. The event, drawing on Chinese Communist Party frame of “friendship” (友谊), was titled “Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon: Deep Neighborly Affection.” It was organized by Cambodia’s Ministry of Information, Ministry of Tourism, China’s embassy in Cambodia, and Yunnan province’s propaganda office (中共雲南省委宣傳部), as part of the China-Cambodia Tourism Year. Chinese performers presented classical dance works a Yunnan Yi ethnic dance called “Stepping on Clouds,” while Cambodian artists performed traditional pieces such as the “Apsara Dance” and a selection from the historical drama “Zhou Daguan Meets Zhenla” (周达观遇见真腊) called titled “Moon Over Angkor.” Zhou Daguan was a Chinese official during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty who visited the kingdom of Angkor in the 13th century and stayed for a time at the court of King Indrvarman III. Zhou is often cited in Chinese official accounts as an early example of “friendly” foreign relations with Cambodia and Southeast Asia more broadly. The involvement of the Yunnan provincial propaganda office in the event underscored the province’s continued role as a platform for China’s cultural and economic engagement in Southeast Asia.

Yunnan Hosts China-Vietnam Moon Festival Gala

China and Vietnam held a Mid-Autumn Festival cultural gala on September 25, 2025, at the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Hanoi, featuring performances by artists from both countries. The event, titled “Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon: Deep Neighborly Affection” — emphasizing longstanding Communist Party notions of “friendship” — was organized by China’s embassy in Vietnam, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Yunnan province’s propaganda office (中共雲南省委宣傳部), marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Vietnamese performers presented traditional pieces while Chinese artists performed works featuring traditional instruments alongside dance and tai chi. The event highlighted Yunnan’s role as a key platform in China’s regional engagement strategy toward Southeast Asia.