Entity Type: PRC Party-State Agency

The Research and Training Institute (RTI) of China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) is the largest training institution in China’s radio, television, online media, and audio-visual industry, serving both domestic and overseas professionals. Established in March 2018 as a ministry-level agency controlled by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department, the NRTA succeeded the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and maintains direct control over state broadcasters including China Central Television, China National Radio, and China Radio International. The RTI implements NRTA training programs and international media seminars, organizing sessions for media management, program producers, and technical professionals. In June 2022, the NRTA and Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a code of conduct for online content creators that banned material “weakening, distorting, or denying the leadership of the CCP.”

The Southeast Asia International Communication Center (雲南省南亞東南亞區域國際傳播中心) is a center created in May 2022 by the propaganda office of the Yunnan Committee of the CCP. Part of a nationwide plan to leverage local media for global propaganda initiated by the leadership in 2018, and accelerating from 2021, the center is directed toward neighboring South Asian countries with focus on environmental and water management issues—key to China’s role in the Golden Triangle region. Officially approved by the Central Propaganda Department and guided by Yunnan Province’s publicity department, the center is operated by the Yunnan Daily newspaper group. Its positioning is described as building “the main battlefield” (主阵地) for serving China’s radiation center construction toward South and Southeast Asia, “the testing ground” (试验田) for China’s international communication toward South and Southeast Asia, and “the new high ground” (新高地) for “telling good stories of Beautiful China and Colorful Yunnan” (讲好美丽中国七彩云南故事). The center includes internal organizations like Lancang-Mekong Media (澜湄传媒) and houses a regional international communication research institute, demonstrating Beijing’s systematic approach to expanding media influence through strategically positioned local outlets targeting specific geographic and thematic priorities across the region.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Yunnan Province People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (雲南省人民對外友好協會) is a provincial-level foreign friendship organization managed by the Yunnan Provincial Government’s Foreign Affairs Office (FAO). The association coordinates international cooperation through civilian channels to support Yunnan’s economic development and opening-up policies. It manages sister city relationships, having facilitated 77 partnerships with Belt and Road countries, including 55 with South and Southeast Asian nations, according to a description on its website. Since 2022, the organization has implemented the “Heart Connection, Yunnan Journey” (心联通 云南行) public welfare project, conducting civilian cooperation in neighboring countries and supporting social organizations in healthcare collaboration in Myanmar and Laos. But external propaganda is a key priority of the association, as noted explicitly in this event held in August 2024 with Sri Lanka.

The School of Marxism of the Guangxi Administration College (廣西行政學院馬克思主義學院) is a teaching and research department of the provincial-level training institute, which operates under a “one institution, two names” (兩塊牌子、一套人馬) arrangement with the Party School of the Guangxi Regional CCP Committee (中共廣西區委黨校), meaning both institutions share the same staff and facilities but serve different administrative functions. The Party School was founded on May 25, 1950, and is directly led by the CCP Committee of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, serving as the main channel for training Party cadres at various levels and functioning as an important think tank for government decision-making. The School of Marxism is one of eight teaching and research departments at the institution — alongside departments on philosophy, economics and CCP history.

The Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party’s Jiangxi Provincial Committee functions as the central ideological control apparatus for the province, directing all state-run media, including its official mouthpiece, Jiangxi Daily (江西日報). Located in Nanchang’s Red Valley New District (南昌市紅谷灘新區), the department implements directives from both the central and provincial party leadership to maintain “correct” political orientation in all local media. The department controls information flows, manages public opinion, coordinates propaganda campaigns, and oversees cultural production across the province — ensuring all channels consistently amplify party messaging and promote official narratives.

The International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, commonly known as Zhonglianbu (中聯部), was established in 1951 as a functional department responsible for the Chinese Communist Party’s external work. Operating under the direct leadership of the Party Central Committee, the department has continuously expanded its scope around different Party central tasks, contributing to Party building, reform and opening-up, and overall diplomacy. Since the 18th Party Congress, the department has implemented Xi Jinping’s important thoughts on Party external work. It currently maintains relationships with more than 600 political parties and political organizations from over 160 countries and regions through high-level exchanges, forum dialogues, and working visits. The department focuses on four key areas: serving overall diplomatic layout, conducting research on international situations, building personal networks combining party and government officials, and promoting China’s image by introducing the Party’s governing philosophy. The department has cultivated a culture of “loyalty, dedication, pragmatism, and pioneering.”

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (國務院台灣事務辦公室) is a ministerial-level agency of the People’s Republic of China established on October 30, 1988, responsible for cross-strait relations and implementing Beijing’s Taiwan policies. Operating under the “one institution with two names” arrangement, it simultaneously functions as the Chinese Communist Party’s Taiwan Work Office (中國共產黨中央台灣工作辦公室) under the CCP Central Committee, with the party designation used for interactions with Taiwan political parties. The office promotes Chinese unification through managing cultural, economic, and scholarly exchanges, preparing negotiations and agreements, conducting propaganda work, and coordinating with provincial Taiwan Affairs Offices across mainland China. The agency, which advances the CCP’s official position that Taiwan is a province of the PRC, has no relationship with Taiwan’s government and operates from headquarters at Guang’anmen South Street in Beijing while managing activities across the Taiwan Strait.

The People’s Government of Yunnan Province (雲南省人民政府) serves as the provincial administrative body for Yunnan, founded in December 1949. Under China’s single-party political structure, the governor answers to the secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the CCP (中共雲南省委). Originally established as the Yunnan Provincial Military and Political Commission, the institution has been renamed multiple times throughout its existence: becoming the Yunnan Provincial People’s Committee (雲南省人民委員會) in April 1955, then the Yunnan Provincial Revolutionary Committee (雲南省革命委員會) in August 1968 during the Cultural Revolution, before adopting its present name in December 1979. Information management and external propaganda (外宣) within the government are handled by the Yunnan Provincial People’s Government Information Office, which manages the official Yunnan Gateway multimedia news platform that features an English-language website targeting international audiences. Yunnan Gateway and the information office also now overlap with the Yunnan International Communication Center for South and Southeast Asia (雲南省南亞東南亞區域國際傳播中心).

The Fujian Provincial People’s Government (福建省人民政府) serves as the executive administrative authority of Fujian province in southeastern China, headquartered in Fuzhou. As a provincial-level government under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, it oversees economic development, public administration, and policy implementation across Fujian’s nine prefecture-level divisions. The government plays a significant role in China’s engagement with Southeast Asia and Taiwan given Fujian’s coastal geography and historical ties to overseas Chinese communities. It has co-organized major international forums including the 2025 China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum alongside the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). The provincial government promotes Fujian’s digital economy, port infrastructure, and cross-strait exchanges while implementing directives from the Chinese Communist Party’s provincial committee and central government policies. The province is also a “crucial hub” for information activities directed at Taiwan, including covert activities.