The Green Dragon Club, also known in some news reports as the “Green Dragon Dragon Boat Club,” is a local Chinese community organization based in Prato, Italy, that maintains strong connections with Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, from which a large proportion of the local Chinese population originates. Founded in 2016, the club currently has 65 members who are all Wenzhou Chinese living and working in Prato. The president of the club as of 2023 was Deng Jianyi (鄧建義), a businessman from Wenzhou’s Lucheng District who led a 37-day motorcycle expedition covering 14,000 kilometers through seven Eurasian countries before returning to Wenzhou in July 2023. In February 2025, the club was designated as both an “overseas communication base” and “liaison office” of the Wenzhou International Communication Center (溫州國際傳播中心), a local government media organization established in May 2024 as part of China’s international communication strategy.
The Spain-China Friendship Association (Asociación de Amistad España-China), also known in Spain as Asociación de Amigos de China, was founded in 1987 and is based in Madrid. It presents itself as a nongovernmental organization promoting cooperation between Spain and China. They facilitate exchanges between Chinese and Spanish delegations and organize cultural activities in both countries. On its website, the association says that its Chinese counterpart is the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries or CPAFFC (中國人民對外友好協會), as an “organization integrated into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China” that has been its counterpart since its founding, carrying out “intense activities” extending to China’s provinces and municipalities. CPAFFC, established in May 1954, serves as a key conduit for establishing links with foreign individuals and organizations favorable to the CCP leadership’s agendas.” Current president Antonio Miguel Carmona, a macroeconomics professor, has met with Chinese Ambassador to Spain Yao Jing (姚敬) and, in September 2023, was received by the vice governor of Hebei province and the vice president of the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
The Communist Party of Sweden (Kommunistiska Partiet) is a far-left Marxist-Leninist political party founded in 1970. It emerged from a series of splits within the Swedish communist movement during the late 1960s, when pro-Beijing factions broke away from the mainstream Left Party over ideological disagreements. Headquartered in Gothenburg, the party was officially registered in 1977 and adopted its current name at its 14th Party Congress in January 2005. As of March 2026, it held no seats in the Swedish parliament and did not contest national elections. The party historically has roots in the Maoist movement but has since distanced itself from that orientation. Its official organ is the weekly newspaper Proletären, which it has published since 1970.
FokusKina is a Swedish association that publishes a quarterly journal of the same name — formerly called Kinarapport — covering Chinese history, culture, politics, economics, and society, anddescribes itself as “the only journal in Sweden focused entirely on China.” In addition to the journal, the association organizes lectures, cultural events, and member trips to China.Founded in 1952 as the Swedish-Chinese Association (Svensk-kinesiska föreningen), the organization was “officially non-political” but in practiceacted as “a link to the Embassy of China in Sweden” and “a kind of watchdog over Swedish discourse on things Chinese,” protesting when Swedish media departed from the PRC line, according to a monograph published by the Cambridge University Press. By the 1960s and 1970s, it had become closely intertwined with the Swedish New Left, sharing many members with the pro-Beijing Maoist party “Kommunistiska Förbundet Marxist-Leninisterna” (KFML) and partially financing its operations through its close ties with the Chinese embassy and the sale of books and other products from China. It renamed itself the Swedish-Chinese Friendship Association (Svensk-kinesiska vänskapsförbundet) in 1971, then reverted to its original name after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to distance itself from the regime. In the discourse of the Chinese Communist Party, “friendship” carries explicit political expectations — alignment with China’s foreign policy positions and non-interference in its internal affairs — and is routinely cultivated through institutional proxies, including associations and think tanks, that lend the appearance of grassroots exchange to what are in practice state-directed relationships. This group’s function and history — even before its rebranding as FokusKina in 2017 — reflects this pattern closely. Today the association describes itself as “politically, religiously, and economically independent” and is funded primarily by membership fees and grants from the Arts Council. In April 2025, its editor attended a Chinese embassy-hosted event, and the Chinese embassy in Sweden featured on its website a 2022 FokusKinainterview with Ambassador Cui Aimin (崔愛民).
Cátedra China is a Spain-based organization founded in 2012. The think tank describes its mission using language that closely mirrors CCP narratives, presenting itself as a bridge between “knowledgeable and lovers of current and historical China” from Spanish and Chinese academic, business, media, and institutional circles. It organizes conferences, seminars, and political dialogue events, and publishes the magazine Mundo Global. The think tank has ties to the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), a government body that aims to cultivate foreign networks and relationships. The association has a partnership with the Spain-China People’s Friendship Association (AACHE), an organization established in 2019 at CPAFFC’s encouragement. In 2020, a report from the US State Department characterized CPAFFC as being used to “directly and malignly influence state and local leaders.” In 2024, it inaugurated Fundación Cátedra China, with the aim of strengthening knowledge and relations between Spain, the European Union, and the People’s Republic of China. The organization maintains close ties with the Chinese embassy in Spain. In February 2021, former Chinese Ambassador to Spain Wu Haitao (吳海濤) met with Cátedra China’s executive committee, calling it “necessary and valuable.” In March 2024, the think tank launched the “China Comienza Aquí” (China Begins Here) programme, in collaboration with the PRC embassy in Spain. The program arranges meetings between Chinese diplomats and Spanish university students in what the organization describes as informal, “protocol-free” exchanges. Current Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing (姚敬) has attended multiple Cátedra China events and, in November 2024, jointly presented with Cátedra China on China’s 15th Five-Year Plan – a strategic roadmap for China to follow until 2030. Marcelo Muñoz is the founder and current honorary president. When interviewed by Chinese state broadcaster CGTN Europe, he said he “was the first ever Spaniard to open a business in China” in 1978. Muñoz has authored multiple books and writes regularly for Spanish outlets. In interviews with Chinese state media, he echoes Beijing’s narratives, describing China’s transformation as one of humanity’s greatest transformations.
The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español), or PSOE, is a social democratic political party in Spain. Founded in 1879, the PSOE is Spain’s oldest existing political party and has governed longer than any other party in modern democratic Spain. The party was led in 2026 by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has served since 2018 and forms a coalition government with the left-wing Sumar party, established in November 2023. The PSOE is a member of the Party of European Socialists, the Progressive Alliance, and the Socialist International, representing center-left social democratic politics in Spain.
The Málaga Film Festival (Festival de Málaga) was established in 1998, organized by the Málaga City Council to promote Spanish cinema and contribute to the development of Málaga, a city on the Mediterranean coast in Andalusia, as a cultural city. The festival showcases feature films, documentaries, and short films in Spanish. In 2024, it became a FIAPF-accredited member (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) as a competitive film festival specializing in Spanish-language cinema. The same year, the festival opened with “Dragonkeeper,” a Spain-China animated co-production produced by the state-owned China Film Group (CFG), China Film Animation (a division of CFG), Movistar Plus+ (Spain’s largest subscription television platform), and the Spanish film production company Atresmedia Cine.
The Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España), or PCE, was founded on November 14, 1921, following a split in the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party. Headquartered in Madrid, the Marxist-Leninist party maintains the monthly publicationMundo Obrero and operates the Communist Youth Union of Spain. The party played a central role during the Spanish Civil War and currently holds seven seats in the Spanish Congress of Deputies as part of the United Left coalition. President José Luis Centella, former General Secretary from 2009-2018, who assumed the presidency around 2018, has been prominently featured in Chinese state media. Centella has made multiple visits to China, meeting with Communist Party of China officials and speaking at CCP-organized forums.
The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (菲華工商總會), or FilChiOC, is a Manila-based umbrella organization established in 1954 representing Chinese Filipino business associations across the Philippines. It brings together regional and sectoral chambers involved in trade, manufacturing, services, and other commercial activities. FilChiOC organizes business forums, trade missions, and investment exchanges, and maintains regular engagement with Philippine government agencies and foreign commercial groups. It also supports educational, charitable, and social welfare initiatives within the Chinese Filipino community. As one of the largest Chinese business organizations in the country, FilChiOC serves as a coordinating platform linking local chambers, industry groups, and external partners.
