Entity Type: PRC Media Group

China International Television Corporation (中國國際電視總公司, CITVC) is a wholly state-owned subsidiary of China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), established in 1984 to handle international content distribution and co-production partnerships. The corporation serves as CMG’s primary commercial arm for global media operations, with over RMB 10 billion in assets and annual revenue. CITVC founded the Silk Road Television Community (絲綢之路電視共同體) in 2016 as an international broadcasting alliance now encompassing 149 media institutions across 64 countries. The company operates content distribution channels in North America through its California-based subsidiary China Television Corporation (中國電視有限公司, CTC) and has been designated a “Key National Cultural Export Enterprise” by Chinese authorities, positioning it as a central platform for Beijing’s international media influence operations and Belt and Road Initiative (一帶一路) propaganda dissemination.

China International Communications Group, also known as China International Publishing Group (中國國際出版集團), is a state-controlled media organization established in 1949 and owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Headquartered in Beijing, it operates as a foreign-language publishing and communications enterprise claiming to “introduce China to foreign countries.” The organization reportedly runs 20 overseas branches in countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, and Mexico, employing approximately 3,000 staff members, including about 100 foreign workers. CICG publishes over 3,000 book titles and around 50 journals annually in more than 10 languages, including notable periodicals like China Today (今日中國) and Beijing Review. As of September 2024, independent media researchers classified the organization as “State Controlled Media,” challenging its claims of editorial independence.

The Guilin Beibei Te Electronic Audio-Video Publishing House (桂林貝貝特電子音像出版社有限責任公司) was established in June 2005 in Guilin, Guangxi, with Lai Zhiwen (賴志文) serving as its legal representative. The company specializes in electronic and audio-visual publishing, including electronic publications, online publishing, and audio-visual production services.  The publishing house is wholly owned by Guangxi Normal University Press Group, a state-owned publisher that has received commendations from the Central Propaganda Department and says it “adheres to the correct political direction” and “effectively puts social benefits in the first place.”

China International Television Corporation (中國國際電視總公司), or CITVC, founded in 1984, is a state-owned media company funded by China Central Television (CCTV) that handles international sales and distribution of Chinese television content. Following asset reorganization in 1997, the corporation expanded into a diversified media conglomerate with operations spanning program production, distribution, advertising, audience research, and technical services. The company, now under the umbrella of the Central Propaganda Department-administered China Media Group (CMG), markets CCTV’s content internationally and distributes 33 foreign satellite channels from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other countries across China. 

China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), also known as “Voice of China,” was established on March 21, 2018, under the direct control of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (中共中央宣傳部). China’s largest state media conglomerate was formed through the merger of China Central Television (中國中央電視台), founded in 1958, China National Radio (中央人民廣播電台), and China Radio International (中國國際廣播電台). The organization operates 47 television channels and 17 radio frequency bands, with claims of maintaining bureaus in 63 countries and regions. CMG states its flagship news program Xinwen Lianbo (新聞聯播) “attracts an average daily audience of 120 million” and claims the 2020 Spring Festival Gala was watched by 1.232 billion people in China and overseas.” The organization broadcasts in more than 40 languages through subsidiaries, including China Global Television Network (CGTN). As the China Media Project notes, CMG has been “portrayed by state media sources as a key step in advancing China’s international transmission capacity and telling China’s story well,” serving as the Party’s central platform for domestic propaganda and international broadcasting.

The Chongqing Daily News Group was established on October 18, 2001, as the official media arm of the Chongqing Municipal Communist Party Committee. Its flagship publication, Chongqing Daily (重慶日報), was founded on August 5, 1952, with then-party leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) personally calligraphing the masthead and providing an inscription during his tenure as Southwest Bureau Secretary. The group claims to have expanded from three newspapers before Chongqing’s designation as a centrally-administered municipality to a conglomerate encompassing 15 newspapers, 3 magazines, 15 websites, and over 20 commercial subsidiaries. While positioning itself as implementing “dual-wheel drive” combining “news undertakings and business operations,” the organization functions as a state propaganda apparatus under party directives rather than as an independent journalistic enterprise, reflecting the broader structure of Chinese state media where editorial control remains subordinate to political objectives.

Shanghai Media Group, also known as Radio and Television Station of Shanghai (上海廣播電視台), is one of China’s largest state-owned media conglomerates, headquartered in Shanghai. Formed in 2001 through a merger of Shanghai’s People’s Radio Station, East Radio Shanghai, Shanghai Television, and Oriental Television, SMG operates a comprehensive portfolio including Dragon Television, multiple specialized channels, and radio stations. The group launched China’s second English-language news channel, International Channel Shanghai (ICS), in 2008. SMG owns Yicai Global (formerly China Business Network), which received a $193.5 million investment from Alibaba Group in 2015 for a 30 percent stake. In 2020, the U.S. State Department designated Yicai Global as a foreign mission of the Chinese government. SMG has partnerships with Disney for film development and produces content across news, entertainment, sports, and financial programming, spanning television, radio, and digital platforms.