US media reported last month that China’s President Xi Jinping said the country must improve its global propaganda efforts to help foreigners understand the Chinese Communist Party. According to a Reuters article:
June 2, 2021 China President Xi Jinping said the country must improve the way it tells its “stories” to a global audience as it seeks to develop an international voice that reflects its status on the world stage, official news agency Xinhua reported. Speaking at a Communist Party study meeting, Xi said it was crucial for China to improve its ability to spread its messages globally in order to present a “true, three-dimensional and comprehensive China,” Xinhua said on Tuesday. China needed to develop an “international voice” to match its national strength and global status, Xinhua said, citing Xi. It also needed to strengthen propaganda efforts to help foreigners understand the Chinese Communist Party and the way it “strives for the happiness of the Chinese people.”
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As its image has taken a big hit in recent years, China has stepped up its global information operations as part of the effort to repair the damage to its global image and interests, calling upon Chinese state media to “tell China’s story well”. Recent GIOR coverage of China’s global influence operations has included:
- In May, we reported that China’s foreign influence operation budget in the US is mainly centered on television broadcasting and other media activities.
- In May, we reported that China is laundering its propaganda in the Czech Republic through local ‘alternative media’ disinformation outlets.
- In April, we reported that China’s state propaganda apparatus was expanding its influence among foreign audiences through “advertorial inserts” in Western mainstream media outlets.
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