In 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed the state-owned China Global Television Network (CGTN) to “tell China’s story well” (讲好中国的故事, jiang hao zhongguo de gushi) (Global Times, December 31, 2016). Xi’s exhortations entwine with his broader ambitions to increase China’s “international discourse power” (国际话语权, guojia huayu quan) and thereby augment the nation’s “comprehensive national power” (综合国力, zonghe guoli). (People’s Daily, June 7). Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China has spent billions of dollars to increase the reach of its state-run media outlets and bolster its reputation abroad. CGTN, which was previously the international branch of China Central Television (CCTV) but rebranded in 2016, exemplifies this government-led effort. The state-owned Xinhua News Agency has expanded its overseas bureaus from 100 in 2008 to 181 as of February 2021, a move all the more notable as many Western outlets have slashed their numbers of foreign correspondents (Xinhua, February 9; The Conversation, January 10, 2019). Both CGTN and Xinhua extensively recruit foreign and English-speaking talent (Facebook, April 14, 2018). The state-led effort to raise the international prestige of Chinese state media has produced tangible results. For example, in 2019, the International Olympic Committee recognized Xinhua as one of its four official international news agencies—alongside Reuters, the Associated Press, and the Paris-based Agence France-Presse (Olympics, January 30, 2019).
Win Some, Lose Some: China’s Campaign for Global Media Influence – Jamestown
