Entity Type: PRC Party-State Agency

People’s Daily, first launched in 1946 and established on June 15, 1948, is the official flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), operating directly under the CCP Central Committee. The paper conveys party consensus through highly regimented content and specialized party terminologies known as tifa (提法), with an estimated circulation of approximately 3 million daily copies in multiple languages. From 1966 to 1976, during the Cultural Revolution, it was part of an influential media triumvirate referred to as “two newspapers and one journal” (兩報一刊) that uniformly featured Mao Zedong’s commentaries across their front pages—a centralized control of messaging later viewed as contributing to the period’s chaos. The paper continues to serve as a primary resource for official CCP discourse, focusing on party positions rather than independent reporting, with Xi Jinping’s recent prominence in its headlines widely interpreted as reflecting his consolidation of power within the party.

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (中國人民政治協商會議) was established on September 21, 1949, during the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The CPPCC served as China’s interim legislature from 1949 to 1954, before the National People’s Congress was established. During its inaugural session from September 21-30, 1949, in Beijing, the CPPCC adopted the Common Program as the country’s basic political framework, selected Beijing as the capital, and chose the five-star red flag as the national flag. The organization functions as China’s top political advisory body and a central component of the Chinese Communist Party’s united front system. The CPPCC consists of representatives from various political parties, social organizations, and sectors of society who provide consultation on political and social issues, though it lacks legislative power.

The Propaganda Office of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (中共甘肅省委宣傳部) serves as the chief office responsible for communicating the agendas of the provincial party leadership and overseeing state-run media in Gansu Province, including the mouthpiece newspaper Gansu Daily (甘肅日報). It coordinates party ideological work throughout the province while simultaneously operating under multiple official names, allowing it to exercise comprehensive control over news, publishing, and cultural production. The department functions as the central enforcer of the party’s media discipline, ensuring all local outlets maintain proper political orientation in line with central and provincial level directives. 

The Gansu International Communication Center (甘肅國際傳播中心) is a media organization established on August 29, 2022, directly under the supervision of the Propaganda Office of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the CCP (中共甘肅省委宣傳部) — and sponsored by the Gansu Daily Media Group (甘肅日報報業集團). The ICC is part of a national strategy under Xi Jinping since 2018, accelerating from 2021, to enhance China’s global communication strategy by leveraging local and regional media assets. GICC’s overseas media accounts include the Facebook accounts “Gansu Flavor,” “Gansu Focus” and possibly also “HiGansu,” as well as the X account “Explore Gansu.”

The State Council Information Office (SCIO) is the external nameplate of the Central Propaganda Department (中共中央宣傳部) of the Chinese Communist Party. Established in January 1991, SCIO was created to improve China’s international image following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Until 2014, SCIO operated under the arrangement known as “one institution with two names” (一個機構兩塊牌子) alongside the Office of External Propaganda (OEP). In May 2014, the OEP was formally absorbed into the Central Propaganda Department, transforming SCIO into an external nameplate. SCIO’s functions include holding press conferences on major national policies, providing media materials to introduce China internationally, assisting foreign journalists covering China, and encouraging Chinese media to report on international news. While SCIO’s official description claims it “promotes communication, understanding and trust between China and countries across the world,” scholars describe it as the “public face” of China’s “foreign propaganda work.”

The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (中国人民对外友好协会), or CPAFFC, is a Beijing-based organization established in May 1954 that manages sister city relationships and international cultural exchanges — and serves as a key conduit for establishing links with individuals and organizations overseas favorable to the official agendas of the CCP leadership. Directly under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA, the organization, as its name suggests, is officially geared toward promoting “friendship” (友谊) between Chinese and foreign peoples, but the CCP’s conception of friendship centers on notions going back to Soviet Russia that emphasize harmony, lack of criticism and even accommodation of China’s positions and goals.

The Guangdong Provincial People’s Government (廣東省人民政府) serves as the provincial administrative authority for Guangdong Province in the People’s Republic of China. Established on November 6, 1949, the government operates as the executive organ of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, implementing policies from Beijing while managing local affairs across the nation’s most economically dynamic province. Based in Guangzhou, the provincial government oversees constituent departments and institutions that manage everything from economic development to social services. The government exercises broad administrative powers including economic planning, urban development, education, healthcare, and environmental protection while serving as the key interface between central government directives and local implementation in China’s manufacturing and export hub.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (中國科學院) is China’s national academy for natural sciences and the government’s highest scientific consultancy body. Founded with historical origins in the Republican-era Academia Sinica, CAS operates as “the world’s largest research organization” with 106 research institutes, two universities, and over 150,000 employees and students. The academy describes itself as “the linchpin of China’s drive to explore and harness high technology and the natural sciences for the benefit of China and the world,” though it functions primarily as a state-directed scientific apparatus advancing government priorities. CAS played crucial roles in China’s nuclear weapons program and computing development, while today co-organizing major government initiatives like the World Artificial Intelligence Conference alongside multiple Chinese ministries.