EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report explores China’s strategy to influence Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) populations through the Chinese and local media. Both are vital in shaping local opinion in favor of the Communist Party of China’s (CCP) ideological objectives. News outlets such as the Xinhua News Agency, the People’s Daily, China Radio International, China Central Television (CCTV), CGTN Spanish, and China Today are strategic and geopolitical tools that seek to replicate, amplify, and consolidate the authoritarian power of China’s President Xi Jinping. China tries to transmit a positive image through campaigns in all possible media, incorporating journalists, academics, LAC politicians, and all those who can support its narrative through propaganda, censorship, and expansion of Chinese and other communication platforms.
Recommendations for the United States:
- Increase funding for independent investigative journalism in LAC.
- Expand scholarship programs and hire LAC staff in U.S. media outlets working on the continent.
- Establish agreements between U.S. and LAC newspapers to interact more closely (staff and news exchanges, courses, etc.).
- Promote U.S. media subsidiaries in LAC by hiring personnel from each country to present the news in that country’s language and dialect.
- Freely distribute cultural material created and produced in the United States. Allow free access to cultural platforms, programs, and films promoting U.S. soft power.
- Create radio programs in English, Spanish, and Portuguese for regular broadcasting in all LAC countries.
- Donate old communications equipment to cash-strapped foreign news agencies.
INTRODUCTION
In 2009, China’s investment in major media outlets abroad reached US$7.25 billion.1 The state news agency Xinhua then increased its international bureaus from 100 to 186. According to economist David Shambaugh of George Washington University, this use of soft power costs around US$10 billion. The interest in influencing leading foreign media since the mid-2000s included “borrowing” foreign newspapers, as Anne- Marie Brady of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, stated in her article “China’s Foreign Propaganda Machine.”2 Researcher and co-director of the China Media Project, David Bandurski, compiled quotes from President Xi Jinping’s media speeches from his inauguration in 2013 to February 2016. In August 2013, at the National Working Day on Propaganda and Ideology, he emphasized that “the internet is the top priority of priorities.”
In February of 2014, during the first meeting of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs, he stressed it was necessary to “innovate and promote online propaganda […] actively putting into practice the socialist fundamental values […] ensuring a clear and bright online space.” At the end of 2015, he gave a speech to the People’s Liberation Army Daily, stressing that “wherever the readers are, wherever the viewers are, that is where propaganda reports should spread their tentacles […] the end point of propaganda and ideology work.” Finally, in February 2016, Xi gave a speech to the Party’s News and Public Opinion Workday. He said, “The Party’s news and public opinion work is to raise high the banner of Marxism-Leninism, promote high morale, distinguish between truth and falsehood, unite China and abroad, and connect with the world.” He added it was necessary to maintain “a high level of uniformity with the Party in ideology, policy and action […] toward the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people.”3
The Chinese media is a vital cog in influencing and directing global public opinion to support the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) ideological goals. Xi urged China Central Television (CCTV), renamed CGTN in 2016, to build a new global narrative. As Haiqing Yu, associate professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s School of Media and Communication, noted, together with th world’s largest network of media organizations, the CCP created an “army” of online “commentators” or “trolls” to manipulate public opinion.4
According to Sarah Cook of Freedom House, the CCP suppressed critical foreign news coverage using direct action by Chinese government representatives, co-optation of media owners to marginalize critical reporting and commentary, imposed self-censorship, indirect pressure to prevent or punish the publication of unfavorable content, and the threat of defamation lawsuits.5 Cook highlighted five trends in Chinese global propaganda in 2018: (1) A more aggressive approach to foreign media influence, (2) Greater influence through media ownership and infrastructure, (3) Innovation in a changing technological environment, (4) Intervention in foreign policy and public debate, and (5) Transforming foreign media markets to China’s image.6 As Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and director of its publicity department, pointed out, all of this would be done under the leadership of the CCP on media.7
In April 2019, China launched a new media group called The Belt and Road News Network (BRNN), to boost “understanding, friendship and cooperation, and forming a standardized mechanism for collaboration” among the countries and regions participating in the initiative. As Xi stated at the first Belt and Road Forum in 2017, “We will develop […] a Belt and Road news alliance.” BRNN is run by the People’s Daily, China’s largest newspaper group and the official media outlet of the CCP Central Committee. Activities include news tours, seminars, awards, access to archives and news databases, and workshops and training programs.8 In March 2020, then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese media were not independent or trustworthy, but foreign missions controlled by the Chinese government.9 For Executive Director Tom Hollihan of the U.S.- China Institute at the University of Southern California, the Chinese media inside the country became more nationalistic and patriotic, and began to attack those outside China perceived as adversaries.10 Cook also noted in his 2020 report, Beijing’s Global Megaphone, that when you had control of the information nodes, you could use them as you wish. She described the use of propaganda, censorship, and content dissemination to manipulate and control global public opinion abroad. Cook distinguished three central elements of China’s strategy: propaganda, censorship, and the expansion of its platforms.11
This way, communication became vital in China’s offensive on the West as it sought to dominate global narratives and discourse. The pandemic was used to position China as a model ofresilience and international aid and to eliminate the fact it was the origin of the virus. This communications effort involved the implementation of exchanges and training of foreign reporters and journalists. Beijing accelerated the delivery of content to international state media, paid for supplements in major foreign newspapers, and sought to sign bilateral cooperation agreements with international media.12 In May 2021, Xi ordered the CCP to redouble efforts to strengthen external propaganda, expand people-to-people exchanges, and promote the country’s interests through Confucius Institutes, for example.13
This report will analyze China’s communication strategy in LAC through the action of the Chinese media and its foreign media networks as a tool to influence LAC in favor of the CCP’s ideological objectives. It will also seek to understand the functioning of the vast network of print, audiovisual, and digital media owned by the Chinese government and LAC groups that serve the purpose of the Chinese regime. News outlets such as the Xinhua News Agency, the People’s Daily, China Radio International, China Central Television (CCTV), CGTN Español, and China Today are strategic and geopolitical tools that seek to repeat, amplify, and consolidate the authoritarian power of Xi. In addition, it is crucial to understand the direct action of representatives of the Chinese government to marginalize critical information through direct and indirect pressure. It will also study how China tries to transmit a positive image through campaigns in all possible media, incorporating LAC journalists, academics, politicians, and all those who can promote its image and narrative.
METHODOLOGY
This research is based on primary sources, media, reports, research articles, and interviews. Among essential sources for this study were the works of Freedom House. In particular, Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 had valuable information for framing China’s influence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. Important sources of information came from research centers, academic journals, and university papers. The Chinese embassies and consulates’ official releases were consulted, as were Chinese newspapers in Spanish and English: CGTN Español, Xinhuanet, people.cn, China Today, Cri Online. ChinaNews, CRI.es., and China.Org. Finally, LAC newspapers helped deepen the topics investigated and frame them.
CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH JOURNALISTS AND THE MEDIA IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Overview
China deployed a policy in LAC to gain political influence and consolidate its presence in the region. The strategy was aimed at less conventional spheres than the economy and focused on interdisciplinary cooperation between universities, think tanks, media, political parties, and various institutions on both sides of the Pacific, and the promotion of Chinese culture and exchange programs with influential Latin American figures.14
Chinese officials use economic coercion to silence negative media reports or commentary in the local language, thus gaining a direct presence in major Latin American newspapers. Diplomats not only pressure media editors to alter critical coverage or intimidate journalists but also provide editorials and writings with a distorted narrative and sometimes aggressive rhetoric.15 In LAC countries with more difficulties and dangers for the free and independent press, Chinese pressure against attacks by journalists, politicians, and business people is less than in countries with broad press freedom. In Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, for example, it is rare to find diplomats with aggressive and confrontational rhetoric as the governments themselves muzzle press freedom. In Colombia and Mexico, the press has not operated with complete freedom, especially given the increasing threats and violence from members of narco- terrorist groups and even from the remnants of guerrilla or other illegal armed groups. Negative Colombian media coverage tended to focus on concerns about human rights violations and environmental degradation related to Chinese companies’ operations in the country. Moreover, Colombia has a historically strong press, resistant to coercive influences such as those pushed by Beijing. Chinese diplomats in Mexico are active in such print media as El Financiero, Milenio, and El Universal, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. They promoted misleading narratives about human rights and the origins of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Mexican media face violent reprisals that prevent in-depth media coverage of China.
In contrast, in countries with greater press freedom, such as Chile and Brazil, Chinese diplomats have been active in responding to and attempting to refute the accusations against their government. In Chile, several politicians and journalists doubted the veracity of Chinese discourse, and media outlets expressed astonishment at China’s aggressive diplomatic rhetoric in the country while they denounced its human rights record and economic investments. Recent ambassadors there argued against those who dared to criticize China using direct and veiled threats. In Brazil, Chinese diplomacy expanded its engagement with local media as it began responding to negative or offensive reporting by journalists and politicians (especially during the government of Jair Bolsonaro, 2019- 2022). At the same time, the Chinese sought to introduce positive messages of an economic and technological nature and the importance of the bilateral relationship.
In other countries such as Argentina, Panama, and Peru, the presence of the Chinese Embassy and its diplomats in the media has been regular and focused on promoting their interests. In Argentina, a broad network of links has been woven with various media groups, academics, political leaders, and influential people. There is also a large diaspora in Argentina that cooperates with the Chinese narrative and supports its policies. One of those interviewed was Gustavo Ng, director and founder of the bilingual magazine, Dangdai, which is in tune with the regime.
The communicative shortcoming in Argentina is media concentration, which makes transparency and accountability impossible, affecting freedom and independence of communication, ultimately benefiting China’s narrative. Chinese diplomats in Panama and Peru are very active on Twitter and regularly give interviews and publish editorial articles in local media. Their influence is almost irrepressible in Panama, and many journalists and media owners have been targeted and sued. In Peru, the state media broadcast largely pro-Beijing content, much of it overseen by the embassy, which does not hesitate to react to negative local coverage of what it considers “sensitive” issues, such as the origin of the pandemic. Local politicians were also “warned” about anti-Chinese views on mining, environmental issues, and other projects that have benefited from Chinese investment.16
Another interesting phenomenon expanding in LAC is the presence of Chinese organized crime. Chinese mafia organizations known as Triads were detected in Panama and Costa Rica. The curious thing is that, in addition to illegal activities, they began to use threats and violence in Costa Rica to intimidate or punish Chinese dissidents who criticized the country. In November 2019, Costa Rican media reported that journalist Greivin Moya had received threats from the Triads and had to be protected by local authorities after denouncing their operations in the Central American country. These criminal groups merit further investigation.17
Researcher Richard Puppin asserted that China constantly tries to increase its influence through a communications strategy in which it presents itself as the new benevolent hegemon and the dominant power in the international system. He stresses that its two main characteristics are soft power and attempts at media influence. One of China’s criticisms of the United States in LAC is its unilateralism and Cold War mentality. It is important to remember that, during the Cold War, the United States directly or indirectly supported diplomatically or militarily the fall of several Latin American governments in the face of the communist threat embodied by the Soviet Union. China, therefore, presents itself as a reliable, anti-imperialist, and cooperative partner. But, as U.S. Southern Command Chief General Laura Richardson noted, “China is extending its malign influence, flexing its economic muscle and engaging in grey-zone activities to expand its military and political access and influence.”18 As bilateral conflict and intra-regional fragmentation deepen, the margins of maneuver for LAC will narrow in terms of managing relations toward Washington and Beijing.19 At present, some Latin American elites justify ignoring China’s behavior because the United States has not made a better offer or because it has a negative history of imperialism and military interventions in the region.20
Researcher Camilo Defelipe Villa said the journalistic workshops that the Chinese government proposes to Latin American journalists provide an important political charge through a unified, coordinated discourse and with an emotional atmosphere that is different from Western news agencies such as the Voice of America, BBC, DW, and France24, which have a more geopolitical stance.21 China implemented many initiatives to increase its influence over journalists, academics, politicians, and legislators in a region where the United States traditionally exerted greater influence over opinion leaders. However, Chinese soft power did not yield the expected results because Latin American audiences became suspicious of Chinese media such as Xinhua and CGTN.22 Hence, the “indoctrination” of influential reporters was accelerated through, among other things, trips to China, so they would report positively on the country and, thus, have an impact on Latin American audiences. The Chinese government considers these effective measures to gain influential voices, as evidenced by the increased frequency of such trips under Xi’s rule.23
For Néstor Restivo, there is not a co-optation of journalists by the Chinese regime but rather a search for interested parties in the country to form a network or cooperation forums. To achieve this, one of the strategies used is inviting journalists from all over the world to China to have a positive experience there, engaging local journalists, paying for news supplements in foreign media, or purchasing advertising space.
In contrast, Robert Evan Ellis, a professor and researcher at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, observed during an interview that China’s friendliness was more focused on obtaining a commercial advantage or gaining influence over judges, journalists, and students. In a sense, it is a way of “seducing” interlocutors for further profit. He stated it was a more subtle seduction than in Cold War times, although there are forbidden subjects for China, such as policy toward its ethnic minorities. In doing so, the Chinese government resorts to threats, which can be veiled or concrete through, for example, Chinese police stations abroad.24
Puppin also noted that China’s communication strategy has focused on softening criticism. One example is the relationship between China and Guyana. In the latter country, the boom in the local oil industry allowed for a massive influx of Chinese capital. As a result, a VICE Media documentary exposed the link between local corruption and Chinese investment. A local editor was subsequently invited to participate in the China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC) program to try to change his position.25 This program, sponsored by the Chinese state and active since 2014, offered such “rebel” journalists a four-to-six-month scholarship to travel around different Chinese provinces.
About 450 journalists worldwide have thus far been trained through the CIPCC program. The 2022 edition welcomed 73 journalists from 54 countries. According to Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Hua Chunying, the program provides a platform for visits to historic sites, high-tech firms, a taste of traditional Chinese culture, the practice of Tai Chi, and Chinese calligraphy. She said that today there are two views on China; “one is about threat and challenge, and the other, hope and opportunity.”26 During the pandemic, a cloud center opened for the media of developing countries to “see and feel the pulse of China’s development,” Hua said. She added, “I hope you will use your pen and camera to tell the world truthfully what you see and hear in China and what you think, to help the world know and understand China better.” The 2023 edition will host over 60 journalists from countries across LAC,28 the Asia–Pacific, Africa, and Eastern Europe to report on China’s socioeconomic development, diplomacy, significant domestic and diplomatic events, science and technology, and culture; and to meet with governmental departments, enterprises, think tanks, and the media, and to visit selected provinces.29
The corruption cases involving China in LAC are not isolated events. What has been called “geostrategic corruption” took hold two decades ago in LAC, led by China. Corrupt means, such as no-bid contracts, insider financial deals, and special relationships with those in power, are used to influence a given country’s politics, economy, and society. Like Chinese investment, this practice is more common with populist governments, such as those in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.30 Bolivian engineer Renán Torrico noted the Chinese works built in Bolivia are of poor quality and last very little time. The most prominent case was that of former President of Bolivia Evo Morales’ partner, Gabriela Zapata, a Chinese company director sentenced to ten years in prison for corruption. During Morales’ term of office (2006-2019), Chinese companies gained a critical position in key sectors of the economy to the point of achieving a monopoly in the lithium industry. In Argentina’s provinces, geostrategic corruption is also widespread. Many governors consented to form a corruption network that China has used to invest in everything it can (nuclear and hydroelectric power plants, lithium battery plants, satellite tracking ground stations, railways, etc.). In Ecuador, these projects include a dam built in exchange for oil contracts; the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, which developed massive cracks shortly after its construction; and the Quijos hydroelectric project, which did not generate the promised volumes of energy.32 Many projects were uncompleted in Venezuela, such as the US$2.7 billion Tinaco-Anaco railway and a US$200 million rice processing plant in Delta Amaruco. However, Chinese banks continued to lend to Venezuela, revealed Latinoamérica Sostenible33 in a report documenting China’s lack of follow-up on its financing projects.34
China produces its material through the official media agency Xinhua, CGTN, and China Daily. It also buys advertising supplements in various periodicals in the region, enabling the dissemination of information in the service of the government. This also ensures that the benefiting news organizations do not take overly critical positions toward China. CGTN often provides free images, video, and audio
broadcasts to the LAC media. Partly due to the limited budgets of the region’s media and the difficulty of obtaining similar material on their own, Latin American media often accept and use these media regardless of the propaganda effects.35 CGTN’s Spanish-language channel went on air in 2007 to disseminate China’s voice in Spanish-speaking countries.
This region has increased in importance for China in recent years, and with the party’s support, the global broadcasting network has grown. CGTN in Spanish is based at CCTV’s headquarters in Beijing and a North American office in Washington, D.C. Until 2018, CCTV had five offices in LAC (Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela).36
Among the many interviews conducted were those with professor and researcher Jorge Malena; the Director and Founder of the Confucius Institute of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Rubén Tang, and the Senior Director of McLarty Associates and former Mexican Ambassador to China, Jorge Guajardo.37 Malena pointed out that China was not seeking to co-opt but rather mitigate the cultural or ideological prejudice held against it “as a result of belonging to the Western cultural hemisphere.” He said it was up to the journalists, out of conviction or convenience, to take a pro-China stance. Tang said there was a strong Chinese interest in getting regional media to support its political positions or actions, especially with the current president, Xi. He also said it was difficult for regional media to maintain independence when there was so much Chinese influence and “cooperation.” Guajardo argued that there was not really a Chinese communication strategy to attract Latin American media beyond the publications that Chinese ambassadors regularly publish “that nobody reads.” His view was there was little engagement. The best way they worked together was through their news service, Xinhua, creating a narrative often run by local newspapers without editorial or ideological distinction.
Media cooperation and academia are crucial to multilateral agreements between LAC countries and China, such as the Celac-China Cooperation Plan 2015-2019 (between 33 Western Hemisphere nations and China). According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, it is the “main channel for general cooperation” to “create new capacities in the media.”38 This has resulted in 6,000 government scholarships, 6,000 training opportunities, and 400 opportunities for master’s programs in China between 2015 and 2019. Many of these media training programs were administered by Xinhua and the People’s Daily, with the express political purpose of improving the foreign perception of China and legitimizing the ruling party.39
At the 2016 Media Leaders’ Summit in Santiago, Chile, Xi said, “We want to take advantage of new technologies for the media in both China and Latin America and the Caribbean to show the realities of each region.” With more than 100 representatives of the most important media from Latin America, the Caribbean, and China in attendance, Xi insisted on cooperation to strengthen ties between the two and said, “the media can do a great job to give continuity and momentum to the friendship between the two sides.”40 As Margaret Myers argues, important groups within organizations such as the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Inter-American Development Bank support and promote the China-Latin America relationship. Without going any further, ECLAC’s executive secretary, Alicia Bárcena, highlighted China’s disposition toward the region and the principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.41
At the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Media Forum held in Buenos Aires in 2018, representatives of more than 100 media outlets from China and LAC agreed to cooperate further in press and communications. The organizers noted that a community of destiny was vital for mutual understanding and truthful, comprehensive, objective, and balanced media exchanges. The CPC Central Committee Deputy Director of Publicity, Jiang Jianguo, added there were development opportunities for building a community of mutual destiny. For his part, Xinhua News Agency President Cai Mingzhao mentioned the launch of special line services, the creation of short videos, and the daily supply of 100 videos, among other issues. He added: “We have worked with Alibaba […] to set up a new media technology company, with which we have developed a ‘media brain’ platform.” This would include using artificial intelligence for news production, so the “collection, production and distribution of video is done by machines.” On the Latin American side, the Government Secretary of Argentina’s Federal System of Media and Public Contents, Hernán Lombardi, called for deepening understanding between China and Latin America: “Opinion building in our societies […] relations without limits.” The editor-in-chief of Cuba’s Prensa Latina, Néstor Marín, stressed that the current challenge for Latin American media was to achieve an optimal level of information and dissemination on the Belt and Road Initiative. Meanwhile, Chilean daily La Tercera’s Editor-in-Chief, Juan Paulo Iglesias, called for reliability as “the main strength of the traditional media (mostly print) in the face of internet content.”
The president and founder of the Brazilian multinational Consultoría, Métodos, Asesoría y Mercantil, José Juan Sánchez, encouraged the possibility of exchanging direct agro-industrial information with China and, at the same time, receiving information on Chinese raw materials. Finally, Alejandro Ramos Esquivel, the director general of Mexican news agency Notimex said that China proposes feasible business schemes for Latin American media through the Xinhua agency.42 The China-Latin America and Caribbean Press Centre program is a six-month work and study project in Beijing aimed at Latin American journalists from 10 countries. At the 2018 second edition, the Vice President of the Public Diplomacy Association of China, Liu Biwei, remarked that cooperation had achieved rapid development within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.43 During the opening ceremony of the program’s second edition, the Consul and Director of the Public Diplomacy Office of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liu Yutong, said the selected journalists would get to know the various provinces in addition to receiving courses on Chinese economy, politics, culture, and language.44 In Beijing in 2019, the General Secretary of the Buenos Aires Press Workers Union, Lidia Fagale, was appointed president of the Belt and Road Journalists Cooperation Platform, which aims to deepen exchanges and cooperation with groups of communicators in the countries and regions involved and to facilitate friendly people-to-people exchanges between different countries.45 The China Media Group (CMG),46 ECLAC, and the Latin American Information Alliance organized an Online Forum on Media Cooperation in August 2020. They affirmed the need to cooperate to fight the pandemic and strengthen the construction of the “China-LAC shared future community.” CMG President and Editor-in-Chief Shen Haixiong said, “Chinese and Latin American media should further strengthen cooperation, adopt a responsible attitude, uphold the principles of objectivity, fairness, and truthfulness, jointly express the voice of Chinese and Latin American media.” Zhou Zhiwei stressed that the Chinese and LAC media could guide public opinion more. The forum was unanimous in affirming that, in the post-pandemic era, the media would be crucial to the economy’s recovery.47
Coinciding with the third China-Celac Forum Ministers’ Meeting, CGTN and more than 30 LAC media outlets launched the China-LAC Media Action initiative in 2021. Shen recalled that Xi considered media exchanges an important part of China-Latin American relations and that Chinese and Latin American media played an important role in conveying and developing friendship between the two peoples. He stated that the CMG had actively promoted exchanges between Chinese and Latin American media to uphold the value of impartial and objective journalism, expand channels of communication and cooperation, and contribute to the development of China-Latin American relations. Juan Carlos Isaza Montejo, executive director of the Latin American News Alliance, said it would continue to promote cooperation with CGTN in news exchange and other areas to improve understanding between China and Latin America. Peru’s Agencia de Noticias Andina, Colombia’s Radio y Televisión Nacional, Chile’s Pressenza news agency, Venezuela’s TeleSUR, and Argentina’s Grupo América supported the initiative.48 In 2022, prior to China’s Youth Day (May 4), the special program “CGTN China-Latin America Youth Chat” was launched, in which university students from both sides were invited to offer their suggestions in virtual forums on future global development. The program consisted of five forums and was promoted by CGTN, Argentina’s Televisión Pública Argentina, Mexico’s TV Azteca, Panama’s Televisora Nacional, and Trece from Costa Rica Televisión, among others.49
Case Studies
Since 2016, Chinese and LAC public and private media groups have forged partnerships and co-productions in audiovisual and print products. The work of Chinese state media is also occasionally reprinted in regional (mostly state-owned) publications, such as Agência Brasil, Granma (Cuba), El Deber (Bolivia), and La Tercera (Chile), and agencies such as Agence France-Presse and Spain’s Agencia EFE have quoted it. Telesur in Venezuela dedicates an entire section of its website to republishing daily Xinhua content.50
The inclusion of Chinese inserts in the Chilean press has a propaganda objective. Chinese Ambassador to Chile, Xu Bu (2018-2020), published columns and interviews in the El Mercurio newspaper and held discussions with Chilean and foreign public figures.51
During an official visit to Beijing in 2018, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the El Deber newspaper group strengthened cooperative ties in information, cultural exchange, and social development to consolidate relations between the two entities. The Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Executive, Zhang Run, headed the delegation that received El Deber’s General Director Pedro Rivero Jordán, Head of Institutional Relations Ingrid Rivero; and Editor of Mundo (and Editorialist of El Deber), Carlos Morales Peña.
Zhang stressed that Latin America is one of the priorities of Chinese foreign policy today and emphasized the importance of the media for the understanding and rapprochement of peoples. He anticipated that training courses, journalist exchanges, and even the need to open a permanent correspondent’s office for Bolivian journalists and media in China would be strengthened.52 In June 2018, China and Bolivia signed a strategic partnership agreement in which they committed to increasing exchanges in the media and other parts of the cultural sphere to “promote mutual understanding and consolidate the people’s basis of friendship between China and Bolivia.”53
Argentina
In Argentina, these mechanisms have been even more prominent. In addition to including a media component in the two countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, Argentina’s Ministry of Communications signed a separate agreement with the State Administration of Radio and Television in 2015. This and another agreement signed between the Argentine Senate and Xinhua pointed to a concerted effort to control the flow of information and messages that Argentine audiences receive about China.54 Xinhua sealed alliances in Argentina with different media groups close to Kirchnerism (a left-leaning populist branch of the Peronist Party currently in government), while CGTN did the same with Grupo América, Argentina’s second- largest media corporation.
The free media and audiovisual content provided by China portrays a distorted and friendly image of the Chinese regime, which seeks to neutralize criticism. Media penetration is based on economic gain.55 In Argentina, Chinese media tried to foster partnerships with Argentine television channels to broadcast their audiovisual content. Several media outlets included the China Watch supplement. The Argentine media conglomerate Grupo Veintitrés contained a supplement provided by Xinhua in its newspaper Tiempo Argentino from March to December 2015. The same group’s CN23 television channel broadcasts a daily news block on China, along with documentaries and reports also produced by Xinhua. The group’s website, Infonews, featured a special section on China. Another media organization, Grupo Indalo, used Xinhua news content, as did the Argentine news agency Télam, which signed several cooperation agreements with Xinhua. Grupo América closed a deal with China Daily to insert the four-page China Watch supplement twice a month in five of the group’s newspapers, including El Cronista, the country’s leading economic daily. The two news organizations subsequently produced documentaries and other audiovisual products.
In 2017, China’s People’s Daily and Argentina’s La Nación agreed to distribute content and news jointly. Since 2017, the Chinese newspaper has had a correspondent in Buenos Aires. In Argentina’s leading newspaper Clarín, the Chinese ambassador wrote several op-ed articles, and the Chinese Embassy produces a newsletter twice a year for various governmental bodies.56
Two entities supported by Chinese residents in Argentina, Muralla Dorada and Xia Xia Medios, aired the television programs Chino Básico and Milenarios for years. Radio programs dedicated to China include De acá a la China broadcast on Radio Palermo and AM750 and Clave China on Radio Cooperativa. The documentary series Cerca y Lejos and Sorprendente China/ Sorprendente Argentina were co-produced with CGTN, the official Chinese television network— the former with América TV and the latter with Televisión Pública Argentina. In November 2021, Télam organized a virtual Panorama Forum with Radio y Televisión Argentina, Grupo América, and the CMG. Ambassadors from both countries and Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero attended the forum. A month later, executives from the Indalo and América Media Groups, among others, participated in the launch of the “LAC-China Media Action” project, which was a co-production between CGTN and the Venezuelan news agency Telesur (popular with left-wing audiences in Argentina), as well as the creation of a content-sharing platform.58
Peru
Most local coverage of China is uncritically focused on trade and investment.59 A special edition of China Today magazine for Peru was issued in Lima in 2009. According to Chinese Cultural Advisor Shi Zequn, Peru is the South American country with the largest Chinese diaspora community.60 Oriental Magazine, one of the icons of the Tusán61 community, directly publishes the communiqués sent to it by the embassy’s Secretariat of Culture and often extracts information from the official Xinhua News Agency. On Sundays, it includes an article from the People’s Daily, the principal mouthpiece of the CCP.
CCTV has channels in Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin and manages to reach all circles of the diaspora in these languages. The Peruvian- Chinese Chamber of Commerce and other groups promote and finance magazines and publications, always in line with the Chinese Embassy, which has resources and organizes cultural activities with greater impact.62 The 2016 China-Peru Comprehensive Strategic Partnership included cultural exchanges and media cooperation to achieve broader development goals. That year Xi, on a visit to Peru, said the parties should “share the fruits of cooperation so the vessel of common destiny benefits their people.”63
Despite the embassy’s efforts, the Xinhua News Agency failed to market its services to mainstream Peruvian media. As of 2019, Xinhua, CGTN, and China Hoy only cooperate with Peru’s state media through formal and institutional agreements.64 Prior to the start of the pandemic, Peruvian journalists participated in subsidized trips to China, while public and private media participated in regional CCP-organized virtual media cooperative events to promote a positive message about China. The Chinese Embassy liaised with local media and provided opinion pieces in major publications. Arguments covered topics considered “sensitive,” such as the origins of COVID-19, the question of Taiwan, the United States, and Chinese minorities.65 The embassy expanded its activity in the local media to cover a wide range of issues and increased its social media activity during 2019 to 2021. Peruvian journalists regularly mentioned the embassy’s publications as a source for reporting on China in the absence of more direct access to information. Several diaspora media cooperate closely with the Chinese Embassy.
Mexico
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Mexico and China, signed by Xi and Enrique Peña Nieto in 2013, described increased exchanges between young students, academics, media, and sports as desired outcomes.66 However, Beijing’s efforts in Mexico have fallen short of expectations. Cooperation with local media is limited. Chinese state TV channels were available locally via satellite, cable, and free- to-air services from 2019 to 2021, and print copies of the regional magazine China Today were distributed. The local media outlet Reforma republished content from the People’s Daily on its website, while Chinese diplomats frequently contributed to major print media such as El Financiero, Milenio, and El Universal. The Chinese Embassy used Twitter and Facebook often. Media narratives generally promoted economic cooperation and solidarity during the pandemic and the Belt and Road Initiative.67 Groups such as Club Primera Plana and the National Federation of Mexican Journalists sought to become platforms for increased journalist visits and exchanges with China and collaborated in a framework of cultural exchanges for cultural exchanges between Mexico and China. The National Federation of Mexican Journalists is seeking to have the National College of Journalism graduates included in the International Federation of Belt and Road Journalists, organized by the Association of Journalists of the People’s Republic of China.68
Nicaragua
In February 2022, the son of Nicaragua’s ruling dictatorial couple—Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo—media coordinator of the Council of Communication and Citizenship, signed a cooperative agreement between the state-owned Channel 6 and 19 Digital with the CMG, CCTV, the Television and Film Dubbing Centre, and the Xinhua News Agency. For sociologist Elvira Cuadra, this type of agreement aims to familiarize the population with China in political and social terms, leading to its acceptance. This is reminiscent of the 1980s when Soviet and Chinese programs were aired on state television during the Sandinista regime. In 2022, the pro-government Channel 4 began broadcasting a series of Chinese cultural advertisements during the news hour.69
Brazil
Beijing’s media influence in Brazil is significant and growing. Between 2019 and 2021, Chinese diplomacy and state media expanded their presence on social media. A CCP-owned publishing house works with local partners to publish the China Hoje newspaper in Brazil, and Chinese state television programming is available to Brazilian audiences through co-production agreements. The China Daily bought space to publish content in leading newspapers Folha de Sao Paulo, Editora Globo, and Correio Brasiliense.
Brazilian media representatives participated in regional cooperation forums organized by Chinese state media to centralize news production on China-related topics. Journalists subsidized to travel to China reported they were instructed to write positive news after their return.70 Brazil’s Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) and CMG signed a cooperation agreement in November 2019 to exchange content and technology, joint productions, cooperative broadcasts, and staff training. This expanded the cooperation between EBC and Chinese national radio (signed in 2015 and extended in 2017) to a five-year term. CMG President Shen Haixiong noted the initiative for this partnership came from Xi: “We have the important mission of deepening friendship and mutual understanding between peoples, as well as promoting exchange and cooperation in all fields.” EBC President Luiz Carlos Pereira Gomes said that joint coverage of journalistic events and programs such as public broadcasting promoted strategic social and cultural values for the country. He added, “If you have communication today, you have power.”71
In September 2021, TV Cultura started cooperating with Xinhua to exchange information, documentaries, series, and cultural programs. President of the Father Anchieta Foundation José Roberto Maluf argued the agreement allowed TV Cultura to get “Information from the primary source, not from the alternative or secondary source … We can know exactly how the Chinese think and what the Chinese say.” Xinhua News Agency Director Chen Weihua mentioned in the agreement that the partnership “will help the two peoples know each other more and more.” The Director of Network and New Business of TV Cultura, Fábio Borba, considered the partnership strategic because, in addition to accessing information, it represents an important rapprochement between two cultures.72
Shortly afterward, the Pernambuco Press Association (AIP) participated in a webinar organized by the Chinese Consulate in Recife. AIP President Múcio Aguiar spoke of the importance of the press as an information tool and cited journalistic cooperation and technology exchange projects with China, including journalists traveling from Pernambuco to China to understand the daily life of the Chinese press and the production of Chinese documentaries and special content broadcast in Pernambuco. He highlighted the initiative signed between the Pernambuco newspaper and Xinhua in March 2021, noting the presence of a news portal of the Chinese agency in the Brazilian newspaper “is an instrument of cooperation that strengthens the ties of friendship between China and Pernambuco […] to transform Pernambuco into the capital of Chinese communication.”
The Portuguese-Language Director of Xinhua, Chen Weihua, replied that his mission was to present China’s stories worldwide—a true picture of the country. For his part, CCTV’s Deputy General Director for Latin America, Li Weilin, commented that Brazil’s programs on culture and diversity were successful and recalled commercial cooperation with the state government of Maranhão in 2018 and 2019. He concluded by pointing to a partnership with the media in Northeast Brazil to distribute materials to tell the “real” story of China.73
Chile
In Chile, Chinese diplomats published op- eds and gave interviews in media across the political spectrum. The Chinese Embassy developed a social media presence between 2019 and 2021.74 Some news outlets, such as El Mercurio and América Economía, occasionally publish content from Chinese state media. The newspaper La Tercera signed content-sharing agreements with CMG in 2020. Diaspora media influence in Chile was also significant and largely aligned with Beijing’s narratives. Chinese Ambassador Niu Qingbao defended the safety and “high accessibility” of Chinese-made vaccines compared to the U.S. approach, framing the issue of vaccine efficacy as a geopolitical competition. The Xinhua News Agency and CMG, China’s predominant state-controlled media company for radio and television broadcasting, offered free content to the Chilean media. Xinhua has a branch office in Santiago and at least one correspondent active in the country.
China-based companies linked to the CCP also gained a presence on social media. In 2020, TikTok was the most downloaded social media application in Chile. At the same time, there was a growing effort by the Chinese government to train Chilean journalists as part of a broader policy encompassing the region.75
During 2022 and 2023, Qingbao continued his propaganda activity steadily, and even increased it. In March 2022, in an interview with the newspaper La Tercera, he criticized statements made by U.S. Ambassador to Chile Bernadette Meehan (July 2022), who had warned about the risks of Chinese investments. The Chinese ambassador cautioned that the slanderous remarks made by some people in the United States about China-Chile relations were not new, and the true U.S. concern was the loss of control of Latin America. He also highlighted deepening cooperation on 5G communication, clean energy, smart cities, and other areas. He stressed that Huawei is not a threat to cyber security, but the United States is a threat to the world.76
In another interview the following month, he noted China’s desire to promote infrastructure interconnection as part of the Belt and Road Initiative and support Chinese companies to actively participate in infrastructure cooperation, such as ports. He noted cultural, educational, and academic ties and the importance of Chile as a partner of China. He stated that, in the future, both countries “have unlimited potential for win-win cooperation in clean energy, digital economy, new infrastructure, and many other areas.”77 In June 2022, he referred to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, saying the real intention of NATO’s expansion around the Asia Pacific, or the creation of a NATO replica in the region, was to “defend the U.S.-led hegemonic system, which will harm the peace, stability, and development of the Asia Pacific and the world.” He warned of the emergence of a new Cold War and that China would be reluctant to accept the United States or NATO doing to China in the East what it did to Russia in Europe. This meant that China did not want to be “encircled” by U.S. and European-driven blocs, a tacit reference to the case of Taiwan or disputed sovereignty in the South China Sea.78
Qingbao returned to these issues in November, affirming China’s desire for a peaceful and stable Asia-Pacific region where “both China and Chile are members of the Asia-Pacific family.”79 In April 2023, he more aggressively accused the United States of undermining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and endangering peace and stability in the area. The U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific “to contain China and for countries to act as ‘pawns’ of U.S. hegemony” was presented with the same goal.80 A few days later, the ambassador argued that Chinese modernization would inject an even more powerful driving force into global economic recovery through the joint construction of the Belt and Road and the Global Development Initiative to promote “global openness, cooperation, and connectivity, and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda.”81
Panama
Eduardo Quirós, president of Grupo Editorial El Siglo and La Estrella de Panamá, and Yong En Li, director of the Chinese newspaper El Expreso, signed a business agreement in 2018. In August of that year, El Siglo and La Estrella de Panamá began to insert a section to provide official and general interest information related to China. Fujian Media Group and Panama National Television formally signed a memorandum in 2019 to broadcast each other’s programs, exchange personnel, and other cooperative activities. They discussed international cultural exchange, film and television broadcasting, and painting and sculpture. Several Panamanian media journalists also traveled to China for trainings to instill positive views of China. Consequently, Panama’s traditional media was vulnerable to the influence of the CCP due to economic and political pressure. Chinese state media are also available in Panama on cable television, radio, and Spanish-language websites. The official Xinhua News Agency has an office and local correspondent in Panama City. Chinese diplomats in Panama—especially Chinese Ambassador Wei Qiang—have a strong Spanish-language presence on Twitter.84
Colombia
In Colombia, Chinese media influence is minimal, although bilateral trade, direct investment, and public-private partnerships between the two countries have grown in recent years. Since 2020, under Chinese Ambassador Lan Hu, the Chinese Embassy has developed a sophisticated strategy of engagement with the Colombian media. Chinese diplomats promote their preferred narratives on controversial issues, such as China’s early handling of the coronavirus, Hong Kong’s restrictive national security legislation, and frictions around China-U.S. diplomatic and trade relations. CGTN and CCTV are available online or via satellite television, but Colombian audiences are limited. Chinese state media in Spanish, such as Xinhua Español and Pueblo en Línea, are also available online, although they target broader regional audiences. National media such as El Tiempo, El Espectador, La República, and the business magazine Portafolio sometimes publish free and paid content provided by Chinese diplomatic entities or state media.85
SOCIAL MEDIA
In 2013, China started a massive English-language communication on Facebook. State media pages were created, giving the CCP access to around 100 million followers. As of 2020, one-third of these pages were pandemic related. However, the focus was divided between conveying positive stories, adjusting narratives if they were false or conspiratorial, and using advertisements to spread messages.86 Research in 2013 by Gary King, Jennifer Pan, and Margaret Roberts87 found that around 450 million comments were posted about the government, a large proportion on the government’s websites. Approximately one in 178 social media posts on commercial sites were state made. The purpose is to flatter and distract the public on issues considered sensitive or dangerous to the government, such as the Hong Kong protests, Tiananmen Square, and domestic oppression of the Uighur ethnic community in Xinjiang.88
In 2018, the Chinese government launched a new campaign to detain Twitter users inside China and subsequently extended it to Chinese abroad. Government agents can detain the owners of these accounts or threaten their family members.89 These apps include misinformation on topics such as the detention of Uighurs in Xinjiang, the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. TikTok was also used to influence the
U.S. public’s views on U.S. politics.90 Since 2019, pro-Beijing forces have begun using various manipulative actions on global social media platforms, adapting their tactics to maximize effectiveness.91 The government uses high-tech censorship systems and official media reports, as well as social media platforms Weibo, WeChat, LeTV and, increasingly, Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) to increase internal and external ideological propaganda, censor information, distort facts, and alter narratives. The Cyberspace Affairs Commission and China’s Central Propaganda Department are helping achieve this. Together, they directly employ some two million Chinese citizens and another 20 million civilian online volunteers to reach domestic and diaspora audiences.92
According to Freedom on the Net, a network of more than 80 researchers covering 70 countries organized by Freedom House, one of the first conclusions was that China has been the biggest abuser of internet freedom in the world since 2014. During the pandemic, internet freedom declined enormously, and censorship and surveillance were taken to unprecedented extremes as the government tightened its information controls in response to anti-government protests in Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic. Control over the state bureaucracy, media, religious groups, universities, businesses, and civil society associations was also tightened. Chinese technology companies systematically aided government surveillance by developing mandatory or semi-mandatory mobile phone propaganda and public health applications that collected data and transferred it to the authorities.93
China’s authoritarian regime became increasingly repressive in all areas to consolidate Xi’s power. Between June 2020 and May 2021, more mobile apps were blocked, unauthorized virtual private networks were pursued, and contacts between Chinese and foreign users were censored. Independent research into the origin of COVID-19 and criticism of Chinese- produced vaccines was obstructed, and journalists and activists were persecuted for reporting on the pandemic. Nationalist voices grew, as did attacks on those who spoke against the government line. The government passed new rules and laws that more strictly regulated how Chinese technology companies collected, stored, and shared user data.94
China stepped up censorship during the Beijing 2022 Olympics because of the pandemic and after tennis star Peng Shuai accused a senior CCP official of sexual assault. Platforms were forced to align themselves with Xi’s ideology. Led by China and Russia, diplomats from authoritarian countries promoted a model of cyber sovereignty in multilateral institutions, such as the International Telecommunications Union. In July 2022, the Chinese authorities promoted the International Organization of the World Internet Conference to determine technical standards and an authoritarian model of digital control.95 Access to information was limited to expand surveillance and intrusive new technologies, and for many countries to impose national internet laws, restricting the flow of information.96 Critics of China and the CCP regularly faced cyberattacks, denial of service, and phishing, mainly targeting Chinese media and exile communities abroad.97
For example, the only state-controlled internet service provider in Cuba, ETECSA, used Huawei technology to block the independent news website CubaNet, among others. While readers could circumvent the blocks through virtual private networks, many media outlets had to move to other sites or social networks.98 The laws the Cuban regime uses to regulate telecommunications and cybersecurity are, in practice, more focused on citizen control than justice or welfare. Decree-Law 370, passed in 2019, criminalizes dissent and independent internet activism, and Decree-Law 35, passed in 2021, legalizes general internet blackouts. In July 2021, Beijing helped quell protests against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. Internet and telephone services were cut off, disconnecting connections outside the island thanks to the actions of Chinese companies Huawei, TP-Link, and ZTE, which also helped construct Cuba’s telecommunications infrastructure.99 Cuba was one of only two Latin American countries in which the government cut off the internet to its citizens in 2022.100
On April 3, 2023, the governments of Cuba and China signed a cybersecurity cooperation agreement.101 ETECSA remains the only telecommunications company allowed in Cuba. By order of the government, it produces general blackouts amid protests and selective censorship targeted at specific individuals. The agreement between the two countries aims to prevent and combat cyber threats and promote the development of the cybersecurity industry.102 In May, Cuba’s National Assembly approved the Law on Social Communication, which maintains state control over the media, regulates content, and disregards the independent press as a legal entity. The legislation prohibits disseminating information that could “destabilize the socialist state” in the media and cyberspace and grants legality only to media linked to the state or the CCP. Numerous citizens have been sentenced to prison for their social media postings. In February 2023, the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Press counted at least 508 violent arrests or harassment against journalists on the island in 2022.103
In Venezuela, the identity system called the Carnet de la Patria was established with Chinese technology firm ZTE (a company identified by the United States as a national security risk)104 in 2016 and was accused of collecting data on its users, a form of citizen control used to label those identified as part of the opposition. Certain geographic sectors of the country are monitored by Chinese personnel who provide reports to the government of Nicolás Maduro, who then considers censorship, internet blackouts, and arrests.105
In 2020, RTVC Sistema de Medios Públicos de Colombia signed a partnership with Classic Media Films China Latina, a company dedicated to producing audiovisual works (TV series, documentaries, films, and TV programs) at its headquarters in Chongqing, China. Classic Media Films China Latina’s General Director, Hu Wen Bo, stressed that “through these programs, the way is opened to show Chinese culture abroad and to be the bridge of communication and cooperation between the two countries.”106 The representative of China’s communication office, Zhi Liming, and Ecuadorian production company En el Ojo Films’ Director Nicolás Cornejo, signed an agreement to promote audiovisual products in December 2016. Cornejo explained that although China did not have private media, it had production companies that passed through the state filter: “The objective is for many of these productions to expand to the region.”107
A May 2021 study by the Oxford Internet Institute and Associated Press documented 26,879 Twitter accounts that amplified posts by Chinese diplomats or state media nearly 200,000 times before being suspended by the platform for violating rules prohibiting manipulation. Similarly, according to Google’s quarterly reports, 10,570 channels were removed for engaging in coordinated influence operations linked to China between January and September 2021. YouTube appears to be the platform of choice for China- linked propaganda and disinformation campaigns, although the presence of Chinese official and state media on Twitter and Facebook garners more attention. Alongside the campaigns on social media platforms owned by U.S. companies, new examples of how China-based companies such as Xiaomi, Huawei, or StarTimes are infusing their technology exports with propaganda, selective censorship, or surveillance capabilities appear every month. An extensive pro-Beijing multilingual propaganda network closely followed by research company Graphika reached Spanish-speaking LAC audiences in 2021. Many of the accounts linked to this campaign interacted primarily with the Twitter accounts of business people, Chinese officials, and other left-wing Latin American commentators.109
According to a 2022 report by the Brookings Institution and the Alliance for Securing Democracy, Chinese state media use search engine optimization strategies to place sensitive news about the country at the top of search results pages outside China. Google Search and YouTube are banned in China. Microsoft’s Bing operates in China but suspends some elements of its service to comply with Chinese law.110 Another form of communication is the messaging system WeChat, which is popular with users inside and outside China. Most of the news on this system comes from Xinhua, Global Times, CGTN, and other state media. There is no privacy protection offered, so the Chinese government extensively monitors and censors content on the platform.111
On March 16, 2023, the Information Office of the State Council (Cabinet) published a white paper, “China’s Law-Based Cyberspace Governance in the New Era,” which aims to develop a comprehensive system of laws and regulations and an efficient enforcement system for the “new era,” as highlighted by the Chinese website CRI. It says it will promote strict supervision and effective support for cyberspace and its more than one billion users in China. China’s Vice Minister of Cyberspace Administration Cao Shumin said this is due to the government’s effort to “combat cybercrime and intensify efforts to curb misinformation, cyber violence, abuse of algorithms […] to promote a safe, fair, clean and civilized online environment for the people.”112
Still, there is a strong Chinese interest in LAC. Using the digital economy and associated technologies is a key objective to expand Chinese influence, as stated in the Global Development Initiative (GDI).113 Latin America is the region with the highest number of channels specifically dedicated to talking about China in Spanish, with 46.3 percent, followed by China with 27 percent and Spain with 22 percent. However, China has the largest number of followers, followed by Argentina and Spain. The main topic combines current affairs and Chinese culture with additional content on politics, history, daily life, consumption, and gastronomy. Instagram and Twitter have more channels, while Facebook and TikTok have more followers. For example, the page with the most subscribers (2,500,000) is Sienta China on Facebook.114
The China-Celac plan (2022-2024)115 prioritized China’s engagement with the region in a wide range of digital sectors. Xinhua, People’s Daily newspapers, and China Radio International produce daily content in Spanish and Portuguese. China Central Television (CCTV) has a 24-hour channel, CGTN Spanish, available online, free of charge. China Today magazine, in addition to continuing to print the newspaper, has two Spanish-language websites. Almost all these media have Spanish-language accounts on social networks banned in China, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.116
RECOMMENDATIONS
- China’s media strategy in LAC relies on local media—Chinese media conglomerates increased their number of bureaus in the region, and Chinese diplomats placed articles in local newspapers to make their policy positions known. The U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Press Center should boost the number of local journalists participating in “International Reporting Tours.” For this program, U.S. embassies choose journalists from around the world to report on a specified topic in the United States. While there, they also receive training and exposure to U.S. media outlets. More journalists should have the opportunity to participate in this program, which allows them to experience U.S. newspapers, correspondents, staff and news exchanges, courses, research grants, and ad buys.
- Local media—journalists, researchers, and academics—should denounce Chinese manipulation in LAC, in partnership with US peers. This would demonstrate cooperation and allow the information to be presented in each country or region’s precise language and idioms. Foreign affiliates of U.S. newspapers would play a key role.
- Several Latin American and Caribbean media organizations are looking for opportunities to establish agreements with U.S. and other international media houses and thus distribute news and cultural material created and produced in the United States. Despite its criticisms and prejudices toward the United States, Latin Americans generally like
U.S. films, television series, and cultural and musical productions. Supporting the free dissemination of cultural platforms, programs, and movies on various topics is an enormous soft power that the United States is not taking full advantage of. Radio programs in English and Spanish would be another channel for rapprochement. Many diasporas have one or two hours a week to talk about news and culture in their home country. The Chinese media influence in Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, and Panama is alarming.
- News outlets in LAC (and worldwide) are facing tighter budgets and stiffer competition from other media sites and are eager to get free content from elsewhere. When Chinese media houses offer that, it is difficult to refuse. To counter this, the United States could encourage big name media houses like NBC, CBS, and ABC to share free news content or donate old media equipment to cash-strapped news agencies abroad.
- The United States should also increase funding to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism and the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network to boost the capacity of investigative journalists.
- Sports are an excellent tool to bring the United States and LAC closer. Baseball and basketball are popular sports in many LAC countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, and Brazil and could be used as a channel to bring cultural and even political positions closer. Soccer in South America is specifically relevant and is growing in popularity in the United States. By inviting more famous athletes, artists, singers, and scientists to visit the region and funding more sports, art, and music diplomacy programs, the United States will continue to leverage its comparative advantage. The U.S. Department of State has the infrastructure to conduct these programs with its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Chess schools could be created in Latin America, for example, since the United States has one of the best teams. Chess would be a fascinating education channel, especially now that a Chinese player has become the world champion. (The example of Bobby Fischer playing a world championship match against Boris Spassky comes to mind).
CONCLUSIONS
Chinese Communist Party propaganda seeks to influence policy in LAC with intensity and greater success than in other parts of the world due to the region’s economic needs. This is particularly the case for those countries with high levels of instability (Argentina, Venezuela, and the Caribbean, in general) or those oriented toward socialist ideology (Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela). To this end, all kinds of affirmative and positive stories about Chinese progress and intentions were disseminated, even if many were false or omitted and censored issues considered “sensitive” or purely “national.” The Chinese government pours billions of dollars into deploying this strategy, as Chinese media alone would have been insufficient to achieve this goal. China brought in foreign media and journalists, internationalized propaganda apparatuses, and launched a diplomatic, political, and communications campaign to defuse potential and concrete criticism of the Chinese government, parties, and leaders.
Chinese and its local propaganda and communication strategy hailed this initiative as a new era for humanity. Media outlets such as Xinhua, Global Times, CGTN, and other digital media supported the Belt and Road Initiative and GDI as vast spaces for “cooperation,” while China’s insatiable quest for primary and energy resources, plus the financing of infrastructure, are transforming China into the world’s leading economic power.
One of China’s most critical and centralized propaganda powers is its Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Central Propaganda Department. In addition to Chinese workers, they employ millions of online civilian volunteers who influence and magnify the government’s message. They also serve as a shock force against critics and detractors. Added to this “censorship army” are other technological and propagandistic means of censorship in official media and social platforms (Weibo, WeChat, and LeTV), which, in addition to the above, change the narrative so what is good and right are always on the side of the Chinese government. While such accounts on foreign (U.S.) apps such as Twitter, Google, YouTube, and Facebook were found and removed, many accounts on these platforms are still functional and exert enormous online weight as censors and curators of thought and discourse. This is compounded by Chinese companies such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and the StarTimes that distribute propaganda, selective censorship, and even surveillance capabilities with their technological products. LAC leads the world ranking of channels dedicated to China in Spanish on generic topics, although always with a positive view of the country. China’s limit in LAC is wherever the United States places it. Otherwise, it will continue monopolizing communication, raw materials and, finally, territories. Media influence is crucial in winning hearts and minds in Latin America and the Caribbean. Confronting China in this field is as essential as modernizing the military or developing and projecting economic power. Thousands of people read or hear false information about China and accept it as truth. If this distorted propaganda is not confronted sooner rather than later, half of the news in LAC will be about the goodness, cooperation, and friendship of the Chinese communist regime and the problems the United States causes on the continent, even if the reality is the reverse.
END NOTES
- “China is spending billions to make the world love it,” The Economist, March 23, 2017, https://www. economist.com/china/2017/03/23/china-is-spending-billions-to-make-the-world-love-it.
- Ann-Marie Brady, “China’s Foreign Propaganda Machine,” Wilson Center, October 26, 2015, https:// wilsoncenter.org/article/chinas-foreign-propaganda-machine.
- David Bandurski, “How Xi Jinping Views the News,” Medium, March 3, 2016, https://medium.com/ china-media-project/how-the-president-views-the-news-2bee482e1d48.
- Sean Mantesso and Christina Zhou, “China’s Multibillion-Dollar Media Campaign ‘a Major Threat for Democracies’ around the World,” ABC News (Australia), February 7, 2019, https://www.abc.net.au/ news/2019-02-08/chinas-foreign-media-push-a-major-threat-to-democracies/10733068.
- Sarah Cook, “Recent Wins and Defeats for Beijing’s Global Media Influence Campaign,” Freedom House, November 20, 2020, https://freedomhouse.org/article/recent-wins-and-defeats-beijings- global-media-influence-campaign.
- Sarah Cook, “The Globalization of Beijing’s Media Controls: Key Trends from 2018,” Freedom House, December 19, 2018, https://freedomhouse.org/article/globalization-beijings-media-controls-key- trends-2018.
- Eduardo Olivares, “La inserción china: quiénes están detrás de la ofensiva mediática de Beijing,” Pauta, April 19, 2020, https://www.pauta.cl/internacional/la-ofensiva-mediatica-china-traves-del- grupo-de-medios-de-china.
- Eleanor Albert, “What Is the Belt and Road News Network?,” The Diplomat, October 2, 2019, https://com/2019/10/what-is-the-belt-and-road-news-network/.
- These included Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television Network (under China’s central television entity CCTV), China Radio International, and the China Daily Distribution Corporation news agency. See “Medios informativos chinos: ¿prensa o propaganda?,” ShareAmerica,
July 7, 2020, https://share.america.gov/es/medios-informativos-chinos-prensa-o- propaganda/#:~:text=Cadena%20de%20televisi%C3%B3n%20%E2%80%9CChina%20Central,El%20 peri%C3%B3dico%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Global%20Times%E2%80%9D.
- Olivares, “La inserción china.”
- Louisa Lim and Julia Bergin, “Inside China’s audacious global propaganda campaign,” The Guardian, December 7, 2018, https://www.com/news/2018/dec/07/china-plan-for-global- media-dominance-propaganda-xi-jinping; Leigh Hartman, “Report outlines Beijing’s global media manipulation,” ShareAmerica, January 27, 2020, https://share.america.gov/report-outlines-beijings- global-media-manipulation/; and Olivares, “La inserción china.”
- Raksha Kumar, “How China uses the news media as a weapon in its propaganda war against the West,” Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford, November 2, 2021, https://politics.ox.ac.uk/news/how-china-uses-news-media-weapon-its-propaganda-
war-against-west; and Sarah Cook, “Beijing’s Coronavirus Propaganda Has Both Foreign and Domestic Targets,” Freedom House, April 20, 2020, https://freedomhouse.org/article/beijings- coronavirus-propaganda-has-both-foreign-and-domestic-targets.
- Robert Evan Ellis, Adam Greer, Daniel Uribe, and Kelly Senters Piazza, “El uso del poder blando de China para apoyar su compromiso estratégico en América Latina,” Diálogo Americas, August 18, 2022, https://dialogo-americas.com/es/articles/el-uso-del-poder-blando-de-china-para- apoyar-su-compromiso-estrategico-en-america-latina/#.ZBNHGHbMK3A; and Robert Evan Ellis,
“Compromiso chino en América Latina y competencia estratégica con EE.UU,” Iniseg, July 7, 2020, www.iniseg.es/blog/seguridad/compromiso-chino-en-america-latina-y-competencia-estrategica- con-los-eeuu/.
- Juan Pablo Cardenal, “China seduce a golpe de talonario a las élites de América Latina,” Cadal, eptember 7, 2018, https://www.cadal.org/publicaciones/articulos/?id=11304.
- “Six Ways Beijing Impacted Global Media and Triggered Pushback Last Month,” Freedom House, April 1, 2021, https://freedomhouse.org/article/six-ways-beijing-impacted-global-media-and- triggered-pushback-last-month.
- Sarah Cook, Angeli Datt, Ellie Young, and B.C. Han, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence,” Freedom House, September 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/BGMI_final_pdf.
- “Cómo avanza la penetración china en Centroamérica,” Infobae/Expediente Público, January 19, 2023, https://www.infcom/america/america-latina/2023/01/19/como-avanza-la-penetracion- china-en-centroamerica/.
- Rafael Mathus Ruiz, “El avance de China en la región: una preocupación creciente en Washington, que aún busca sus respuestas,” La Nación, May 5, 2023, https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el- avance-de-china-en-la-region-una-preocupacion-creciente-en-washington-que-aun-busca-sus- nid05052023/.
- Juan Gabriel Tokatlián, “EE.UU.-China: el gran desafío regional,” Clarín, August 17, 2020, https:// clarin.com/opinion/ee-uu-china-gran-desafio-regional_0_agtwNAKuQ.html.
- Robert Evan Ellis, “China y la lógica que usa en América Latina,” Infobae, April 26, 2023, https:// infobae.com/america/opinion/2023/04/26/china-y-la-logica-que-usa-en-america-latina/.
- From interviews conducted in April 2023.
- Claudia Trevisan, “China’s Growing Trade and Investment in Latin America Outpaces Its Influence in the Region’s Media and Civil Society,” Council on Foreign Relations, January 19, 2021, https://www. cfr.org/blog/chinas-growing-trade-and-investment-latin-america-outpaces-its-influence-regions- media-and.
- “A World Safe for The Party. China’s Authoritarian Influence and the Democratic Response,” International Republican Institute, 2021, https://www.iri.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/bridge- ii_fullreport-r7-021221.pdf; and Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg, Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World (London: Oneworld Publications, 2020).
- From interviews conducted in April 2023.
- Interviews, April 2023.
- “2022 CIPCC Program Opens in Beijing -China Hosts 73 Journalists from Developing Countries,” The Analyst, August 19, 2022, https://analystliberiaonline.com/2022-cipcc-program-opens-in-beijing- china-hosts-73-journalists-from-developing-countries/.
- “2022 CIPCC Program Opens in Beijing,” The Analyst.
- The Caribbean contingent included representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Suriname, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Grenada, all countries with which China has signed Belt and Road Initiative cooperation agreements.
- “Grenada hosted by China International Press Communication Centre,” Now Grenada, March 3, 2023, https://nowgrenada.com/2023/03/grenada-hosted-by-china-international-press- communication-centre/.
- Eduardo Gamarra and Valeriia Popova, “How China uses ‘geostrategic corruption’ to exert its influence in Latin America,” The Conversation, May 17, 2023, https://theconversation.com/how- china-uses-geostrategic-corruption-to-exert-its-influence-in-latin-america-201119.
- Luis García Casas, “Proyectos chinos en América Latina: ‘Han cometido grandes errores’,” DW, April 11, 2023, https://www.dw.com/es/proyectos-chinos-en-am%C3%A9rica-latina-han-cometido- grandes-errores/a-65005792.
- Gamarra and Popova, “How China uses ‘geostrategic corruption’.”
- See “Latinoamérica Sostenible,” https://www.latinoamericasostenible.org/.
- Jaime Moreno, “¿El fin de los préstamos chinos a los gobiernos de Latinoamérica?,” Voz de America, April 9, 2022, https://www.com/a/prestamos-chinos-gobiernos- latinoamerica-/6517942.html.
- Ellis, Greer, Uribe, and Senters Piazza, “El uso del poder blando de China.”
- Peilei Ye and Luis Albornoz, “Chinese Media ‘Going Out’ in Spanish Speaking Countries: The Case of CGTN-Español,” Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture 13 no. 1 (2018): 81-97.
- Interviews conducted in April 2023.
- Sam Geall and Robert Soutar, “Chinese Media and Latin America: ‘Borrowing a Boat’ to Set Sail,” The Jamestown Foundation, China Brief 18 12, July 10, 2018, https://jamestown.org/program/chinese- media-and-latin-america-borrowing-a-boat-to-set-sail/.
- Carlos Roa, “The United States is Losing Latin America to China,” The National Interest, August 15, 2019, https://nationalinterest.org/feature/united-states-losing-latin-america-china- 73906?page=0por ciento2C1.
- “Presidente Xi Jinping busca forjar relación entre medios de Latinoamérica y China,” Sputnik News, November 22, 2016, https://sputniknews.lat/20161122/Vhina-Chile-1065044303.html.
- Margaret Myers, “China’s Regional Engagement Goals in Latin America,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 7, 2020, carnegieendowment.org/2020/05/07/china-s-regional- engagement-goals-in-latin-america-pub-81723.
- “Medios de comunicación de China, América Latina y el Caribe plantean estrategias de cooperación,” El Universal, November 23, 2018, https://www.eluniversal.com/internacional/26596/ medios-de-comunicacion-de-china-y-america-latina-y-el-caribe-plantean-estrategias-de- cooperacion.
- “Cooperación entre China y América Latina avanza a un ritmo vertiginoso,” Andina, May 22, 2018, https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-cooperacion-entre-china-y-america-latina-avanza-a-un-ritmo- vertiginoso-710820.aspx.
- Peru: Agencia Andina, Diario Oficial El Peruano; Mexico: Notimex, Excélsior; Argentina: Clarín, Perfil; Bolivia: Agencia Boliviana de Información; Brazil: Jornal do Comercio, El Monitor Mercantil; Costa Rica: La República; Cuba: Granma; Ecuador: El Telégrafo; Panama: La Estrella; Venezuela: Telesur. See Sonia Millones, “Perú participa en programa de inmersión para periodistas en China,” Andina, May 15, 2018, https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-peru-participa-programa-inmersion-para- periodistas-china-710088.aspx.
- “China: La UTPBA preside la nueva organización internacional,” China en América Latina, October 2, 2019, https://chinaenamericalatina.com/2019/10/02/china-la-utpba-preside-la-nueva- organizacion-internacional/.
- A state-owned group was created in 2018 by the merger of China Central Television, China National Radio, and China Radio International.
- “Medios de comunicación chinos y latinoamericanos fomentarán comunidad de futuro compartido en cooperación contra COVID-19,” Xinhuanet, August 28, 2020, http://spanish.xinhuanet.com/2020- 08/28/c_139325190.htm; and “China and Latin America Media Launch Cloud Dialogue Media professionals join hands to fight the epidemic and overcome the difficulties,” People.cn, August 28, 2020, http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0828/c1002-31840765.html.
- “CGTN y medios de comunicación latinoamericanos lanzan conjuntamente la iniciativa ‘Acción de Medios China-ALC’,” CGNT Español, December 3, 2021, https://espanol.cgtn.com/n/2021-12-03/ GBJfAA/cgtn-y-medios-de-comunicacion-latinoamericanos-lanzan-conjuntamente-la-iniciativa- accion-de-medios-china-alc/index.html.
- “CGTN y medios de comunicación latinoamericanos y caribeños presentan el programa especial ‘CGTN Charla Juvenil China-América Latina’,” CGTN Español, March 5, 2022, https://espanol.cgtn. com/n/2022-05-03/GfDCEA/CGTN-y-medios-de-comunicacion-latinoamericanos-y-caribenos-
- presentan-el-programa-especial-CGTN-Charla-Juvenil-China-America-Latina/index.html.
- Ricardo Barrios, “China’s State Media in Latin America: Profile and Prospects,” The Dialogue, May 29, 2018, https://www.org/analysis/chinas-state-media-in-latin-america-profile-and- prospects/.
- Eduardo Olivares, “La inserción china.”
- “Gobierno chino y Grupo EL DEBER refuerzan lazos de cooperación,” El Deber, May 11, 2018, https://com.bo/extra/gobierno-chino-y-grupo-el-deber-refuerzan-lazos-de-cooperacion_125739.
- Geall and Soutar, “Chinese Media and Latin America.”
- Geall and Soutar, “Chinese Media and Latin America.”
- Cardenal, “China seduce a golpe de talonario a las élites de América Latina.”
- Juan Pablo Cardenal, “El poder incisivo de China en América Latina y el caso argentino,” Cadal, May 11, 2018, https://www.cadal.org/libros/pdf/El_Poder_Incisivo_de_China.pdf.
- Gustavo Ng, “Mapa del intercambio,” Dangdai, August 3, 2020, https://dangdai.com.ar/2020/08/03/ mapa-del-intercambio/.
- “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Argentina),” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse. org/es/country/argentina/beijings-global-media-influence/2022.
- Ellie Young and Anonymous, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Peru),” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/country/peru/beijings-global-media-influence/2022.
- “China hoy abre sus páginas a Perú,” China Today, 2009, http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/hoy/2009n/ s2009n11/p62.htm, accessed May 22, 2023.
- It is currently used within the Peruvian-Chinese community (or Tusán community) and its written publications designate all Peruvians of Chinese descent, whether ethnically “pure” or Mestizo. See “Ser Tusán,” http://www.tusanaje.org/ser-tusan/, accessed May 22, 2023.
- Daniel Méndez, “El gobierno chino y la ‘reconquista’ de los chinos en el Perú (y América Latina),” ZaiChina, October 3, 2019, zaichina.net/2019/10/el-gobierno-chino-y-la-reconquista-de-los- chinos-en-el-peru-y-america-latina/.
- Geall and Soutar, “Chinese Media and Latin America.”
- Juan Pablo Cardenal, La «amistad que conecta a Machu Picchu con la Gran Muralla»: El poder blando de China en Perú (Buenos Aires: Cadal, 2019).
- Ellie Young and Anonymous, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Peru).”
- Geall and Soutar, “Chinese Media and Latin America.”
- Ellie Young and Anonymous, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Mexico),” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/country/mexico/beijings-global-media-influence/2022.
- Elvia Andrade Barajas, “Periodistas mexicanos del Club Primera Plana visitan China,” Club Primera Plana, June 28, 2017, https://clubprimeraplana.com.mx/periodistas-mexicanos-del-club-primera- plana-visitan-china-e3Te35OTe33e3A.html.
- “Régimen de Nicaragua regresa a los años 80 con programación China,” 100%noticias, February 23, 2022, https://100noticias.com.ni/politica/113493-programacion-china-television-nicaraguense/.
- Ellie Young and Anonymous, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Brazil),” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/country/brazil/beijings-global-media-influence/2022.
- “Brazil’s and China’s communication firms expand cooperation,” Agencia Brasil, November 14, 2019, https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/geral/noticia/2019-11/brazils-and-chinas-communication- firms-expand-cooperation.
- André Santana, “TV Cultura assina acordo com agência de notícias chinesa,” Uol. Observatorio da TV, September 21, 2021, observatoriodatv.uol.com.br/noticias/tv-cultura-assina-acordo-com-
- agencia-de-noticias-chinesa.
- Thiago Herminio, “AIP participa de webinário em comemoração dos 72 anos de fundação da República Popular da China,” Diario de Pernambuco, September 29, 2021, diariodepernambuco.com.br/noticia/mundo/2021/09/aip-participa-de-webinario-em- comemoracao-dos-72-anos-de-fundacao-da-r.html.
- C. Han and Sascha Hanning, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Chile),” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/country/chile/beijings-global-media-influence/2022.
- Han and Hanning, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Chile).”
- Juan Paulo Iglesias, “Esperamos que Chile siga ofreciendo a las empresas chinas un entorno empresarial justo y abierto,” La Tercera, March 17, 2022, https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/ embajador-niu-qingbao-esperamos-que-chile-siga-ofreciendo-a-las-empresas-chinas-un- entorno-empresarial-justo-y-abierto/CLJK5GZWLRG3NH7FWWY7E7BJFQ/.
- “El Embajador de la República Popular China en Chile, Niu Qingbao, en la entrevista por escrito con el Diario Austral de la Región de Los Ríos,” Chinese Embassy in Chile, April 26, 2023, http://cl.china-gov.cn/esp/sgxw/202304/t20230427_11067235.htm.
- Héctor Cossio López, “Embajador chino Niu Qingbao: «China nunca forzará a Chile a elegir entre potencias»,” El Mostrador, June 6, 2022, https://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2022/06/06/ embajador-chino-niu-qingbao-china-nunca-forzara-a-chile-a-elegir-entre-potencias/.
- Niu Qingbao, “Abrir juntos nuevos horizontes para la cooperación y construir una comunidad de futuro compartido de Asia-Pacífico,” Cooperativa.cl., November 28, 2022, https://www.cooperativa. cl/noticias/corporativo/efecto-china/efecto-china-opinion/abrir-juntos-nuevos-horizontes-para- la-cooperacion-y-construir-una/2022-11-28/152457.html?=efectochina?=efectochina.
- Niu Qingbao, “Asia – Pacífico: Reiniciar la guerra fría es un error,” El Mercurio, April 19, 2023, https:// nuevopoder.cl/asia-pacifico-reiniciar-la-guerra-fria-es-un-error/.
- Niu Qingbao, “Qin Gang: La Modernización China, el Derecho de Autor de China y Nuevas Oportunidades para el Mundo,” Cooperativa.cl., April 29, 2023, https://cooperativa.cl/noticias/ corporativo/efecto-china/efecto-china-opinion/qin-gang-la-modernizacion-china-el-derecho-de- autor-de-china-y-nuevas/2023-04-29/130843.html?=efectochina?=efectochina.
- “GESE firma acuerdo con ‘El Expreso’,” La Estrella de Panamá, July 27, 2018, https://www.laestrella. com.pa/nacional/180727/gese-firma-acuerdo-expreso.
- “TV cooperation opens China-Panama cultural activities, China-Panama High-level Culture Forum held in Panama City,” Cri Online. ChinaNews, September 17, 2019, https://news.cri.cn/20190917/ b421b8f6-5d4c-2584-c21b-cbc933c6c045.html.
- Angeli Datt and Anonymous, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Panama),” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/country/panama/beijings-global-media-influence/2022.
- Ellie Young and Carolina Urrego-Sandoval, “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Colombia),” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/country/colombia/beijings-global-media- influence/2022.
- Vanessa Molter and Renee Di Resta, “Pandemics & propaganda: How Chinese state media creates and propagates CCP coronavirus narratives,” Misinformation Review, June 8, 2020, https://hks.harvard.edu/article/pandemics-propaganda-how-chinese-state-media-creates- and-propagates-ccp-coronavirus-narratives/.
- Gary King, Jennifer Pan, and Margaret Roberts, “How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression,” American Political Science Review 107, no. 2 (2013): 1-18, https://gking.harvard.edu/publications/how-censorship-china-allows-government-criticism-
- silences-collective-expression, accessed May 24, 2023.
- Henry Farrell, “The Chinese government fakes nearly 450 million social media comments a year. This is why,” Washington Post, May 19, 2016, https://www.com/news/monkey-cage/
- wp/2016/05/19/the-chinese-government-fakes-nearly-450-million-social-media-comments-a- year-this-is-why/; and Xiao Qiang, “Chinese Digital Authoritarianism and Its Global Impact,” Pomeps, 2021, https://pomeps.org/chinese-digital-authoritarianism-and-its-global-impact.
- Muyi Xiao, Paul Mozur, and Gray Beltran, “Buying Influence: How China Manipulates Facebook and Twitter,” The New York Times, December 20, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/ interactive/2021/12/20/technology/china-facebook-twitter-influence-manipulation.html.
- Emily Baker-White and Iain Martin, “On TikTok, Chinese State Media Pushes Divisive Videos About U.S. Politicians,” Forbes, December 1, 2022, https://www.com/sites/emilybaker- white/2022/11/30/tiktok-chinese-state-media-divisive-politics/?sh=1de18d744bf0.
- Sarah Cook, “China’s Content Manipulation Reaches New Frontiers,” The Diplomat, November 16, 2021, https://thediplomat.com/2021/11/chinas-content-manipulation-reaches-new-frontiers/.
- Caravanserai, “China making inroads, building influence through media manipulation,” Central Asia News, May 9, 2022, https://central.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_ca/features/2022/09/05/ feature-01.
- “Freedom on the Net 2020,” Freedom House, 2020, https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/ freedom-net/2020.
- “Freedom on the Net 2021,” Freedom House, 2021, https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/ freedom-net/2021.
- Adrian Shahbaz, Allie Funk, and Kian Vesteinsson, “Freedom on the Net 2022. Countering an Authoritarian Overhaul of the Internet,” Freedom House, 2022, https://freedomhouse.org/sites/ default/files/2022-10/FOTN2022Digital.pdf.
- Adrian Shahbaz and Allie Funk, “The Pandemic’s Digital Shadow,” Freedom House, 2020, https://org/report/freedom-net/2020/pandemics-digital-shadow.
- Cook, “Recent Wins and Defeats for Beijing’s Global Media Influence Campaign.”
- Madeline Earp, “How China’s Huawei Technology is Being Used to Censor News Halfway Across the World,” Committee to Protect Journalists, November 23, 2021, https://cpj.org/2021/11/how- chinas-huawei-technology-is-being-used-to-censor-news-halfway-across-the-world/.
- Leland Lazarus and Robert Evan Ellis, “Cómo China y Huawei ayudan al régimen cubano a mantenerse a flote,” Infobae, August 4, 2021, https://www.infcom/america/america- latina/2021/08/04/como-china-y-huawei-ayudan-al-regimen-cubano-a-mantenerse-a-flote/.
- “Cuba es el país con menos libertad de internet en América,” Yucabyte, October 19, 2022, https:// yucabyte.org/2022/10/19/cuba-freedom-internet/.
- “Cuba y China firman acuerdo sobre ciberseguridad,” Prensa Latina, April 3, 2023, https://www. prensa-latina.cu/2023/04/03/cuba-y-china-firma-acuerdo-sobre-ciberseguridad; and Ernesto Eimil, “Ciberseguridad en Cuba: violaciones de derechos y leyes arbitrarias,” Yucabyte, December 7, 2022, https://www.org/2022/12/07/ciberseguridad-cuba/.
- Ernesto Eimil, “Ciberseguridad y cooperación China-Cuba: acuerdo para censurar,” Yucabyte, April 16, 2023, https://www.org/2023/04/16/china_cuba_ciber-huawei/.
- “Cuba aprueba ley de medios con ‘enfoque preventivo ante la subversión,’ según Díaz-Canel,” Martí Noticias, May 26, 2023, https://www.martinoticias.com/a/360675.html.
- Federal Communications Commission, “FCC Designates ZTE as a National Security Threat. June 30, 2020
- Frank Hersey, “The allure of Chinese ‘digital authoritarianism’ for Latin America,” Biometric Update, January 17, 2022, https://www.biometricupdate.com/202201/the-allure-of-chinese-digital- authoritarianism-for-latin-america.
- “RTVC sella nueva alianza con productora mundial de televisión,” RTVC, July 31, 2020, https://www. rtvc.gov.co/noticia/rtvc-alianza-productora-mundial-bruce-lee.
- “China promueve sus telenovelas, series y películas en Ecuador,” El Universo, December 2, 2016, https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2016/12/02/nota/5933617/china-promueve-sus- telenovelas-series-peliculas-ecuador/.
- Cook, “China’s Content Manipulation Reaches New Frontiers.”
- “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 (Argentina).”
- Imad Khan, “China Is Manipulating Search Engines to Push Propaganda on COVID, Uyghur Muslims,” CNET, May 27, 2022, https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/china-is-manipulating-search-engines- to-push-propaganda-on-covid-uyghur-muslims/.
- Joshua Kurlantzick, Charm offensive: How China’s soft power is transforming the world (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007).
- “China publica un libro blanco sobre el ciberespacio y la gobernanza en la nueva era,” CRI.es., March 16, 2023, https://espanol.cri.cn/2023/03/16/ARTIgpwqAYL4BPt5ptDoBhvE230316.shtml.
- “T&T, China propose collaboration for development of Vision 2030,” Loop News, March 25, 2022, https://tt.loopnews.com/content/tt-china-propose-collaboration-development-vision-2030; and “China to advance Global Development Initiative with all parties: Chinese FM,” China.Org., September 27, 2021, http://www.china.org.cn/world/2021-09/27/content_77776800.htm.
- Diego García, “¿Quién cuenta China en español? Panorama del ecosistema de Internet dedicado a China,” Observatorio de la Política China, February 28, 2022, https://politica-china.org/secciones/ quien-cuenta-china-en-espanol-panorama-del-ecosistema-de-internet-dedicado-a-china.
- “China – Celac joint action plan for cooperation in key areas (2022-2024),” Chinese Embassy in Guyana, December 13, 2021, http://gy.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/xwfw/202112/htm.
- Barrios, “China’s State Media.”
About the Author
PABLO BAISOTTI
Pablo Baisotti is Academic Visitor at the Latin American Centre, St. Anthony’s College, University of Oxford; Visiting Research Fellow at the University of South Wales; Associate Researcher at the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca; Associate Researcher at the University of Brasilia. He is a collaborating professor at the National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE), Chile, Fellow Researcher at the SWJ-El Centro, and Associate Researcher at Oxford House of Research.
He holds a PhD in Politics, Institutions, History from University of Bologna. His research focuses on contemporary Latin America from different perspectives and fields, with a multidisciplinary character (particularly in the field of social sciences and the humanities). He is the author of more than twenty books as editor/author. Among them, the following stand out: Routledge Studies in the History of the Americas book series (4 vols. Routledge, 2021-2022); Global Cities in Latin America and Asia: Welcome to the XXIst Century (Michigan U.P., 2022); Persistence and Emergencies of Inequalities in Latin America. A Multidimensional Approach (Springer, 2022); Reframing Globalization After COVID-19. Pandemic Diplomacy amid the Failure of Multilateral Cooperation (Sussex Academic Press, 2022); The Routledge Handbook of Violence in Latin American Literature (Routledge, 2022); Poverty, Money, and Ecology as Pillars of Pope Francis’ Pontificate (2013–2019) (Lexington Books, 2021). He established international collaborations and conducted extensive fieldwork. He has worked on four continents and has been invited to give courses/lectures at various universities in the following countries: Japan, El Salvador, Argentina, Poland, Costa Rica, China, Germany, United States, Spain, South Korea, among others.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency of the U.S. government, Diálogo magazine, or its members.