Dated Sept. 8, 2010, the authors are Douglas Farah, president of IBI Consultants and a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in Alexandria, Virginia, and Andy Mosher, a consultant with the Center for International Media Assistance and former foreign editor with the Washington Post. The authors conclude that as part of China’s expansion into significant acquisitions of oil and minerals in Africa and Latin America and its search for business acumen, technology and markets in Southeast Asia, China has made media influence a high priority.
China is pursuing this program by:
- Direct Chinese government aid to state-run media in the form of radio transmitters and financing for national satellites.
- The provision of content and technologies to allies and potential allies that are often cash strapped.
- Memorandums of understanding on the sharing of news.
- Training programs and expense-paid trips to China for journalists.
- A significant, possibly multi-billion dollar expansion of the PRC’s own media on the world stage, primarily through Xinhua news agency, satellite and Internet TV channels controlled by Xinhua and state-run television services.
