Archives: Dispatches

Linked to the Chinese state and key to its outreach and propaganda efforts on the African continent, Global Max Media Group (Pty) Ltd (環球廣域傳媒集團) describes itself as Africa’s most comprehensive media company with the “most platforms, languages, and coverage,” headquartered in Botswana with operational centers in South Africa, Tanzania, and Nigeria. The company, launched in 2012, claims over 300 staff across Africa and China, operating in broadcasting, film production, digital media, print, and event organization. The group emphasizes its “close ties” (密切聯繫) with Chinese embassies across Africa and African embassies in China to “promote China-Africa friendship and spread Chinese culture and China’s voice” (促進中非友好和中國文化、中國聲音的傳播). It organizes cultural events like “Chinese New Year in Tanzania” (坦桑過大年) and works with Confucius Institutes on “Chinese Bridge” (漢語橋) language competitions. While positioning itself as serving local communities through charity work, the group’s stated mission of spreading “China’s voice” and extensive diplomatic connections suggest its role as a vehicle for Chinese soft power projection across the African continent. The group maintains active Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. It claims elsewhere to be the “largest Chinese media group in Africa,” with “nearly 10 media platforms of more than 8 languages in the African region.”