As reported on the ABU web site:
According to AFP, China’s official news agency said today it will begin broadcasting in Europe this week, in the country’s latest bid to project its “soft power” through an overseas media blitz.
The state-run Xinhua news agency’s English-language television service will launch in Europe starting on Wednesday, Xinhua’s deputy editor Wu Jincai said. “The service will be on screens in supermarkets, and in Chinese embassies in Europe too,” he said.
He gave no further details but state media this year launched a global expansion, apparently aimed at shaping the communist-ruled country’s image.
The chief of the Communist Party’s overseas propaganda bureau, Wang Chen, said in January that expanding the global reach of China’s media was an important way to engineer a better image for the country and its government.
“We must… increase our capacity to broadcast, to positively influence international public opinion and establish a good image of our nation,” Xinhua quoted Mr Wang saying at the time.
After setting up French and Spanish channels ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China Central Television (CCTV) has also announced plans for Russian and Arabic channels this year.