Founded in 1931 under Soviet influence, Xinhua News Agency has since risen to become the largest and most prominent media organisation in China and abroad. Worldwide, Xinhua administers more than 200 bureaus (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2017) and its articles are translated into eight different languages including English and Spanish for foreign viewers. As China’s official state-run press agency, the network has a close relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (Doffman, 2019).
Xinhua News Agency produces both physical and online news coverage through the Xinhua Daily newspaper and XinhuaNet news website and operates China Xinhua News Network Cooperation (CNC) as their television broadcasting network which provides news coverage in China and internationally (xinhuanet, n.d). Furthermore, Xinhua publishes classified internal reports through Neibu Cankao exclusively for top party officials and government leaders, providing them with uncensored information on current affairs, domestic opinions and China’s international perception which civilians do not have access to due to China’s stringent press laws (Lampton, 2001). Delegates should take note of the different nature of news reports that Xinhua News Agency distributes and explore reporting on a variety of Xinhua’s media subsidiaries.
Xinhua News Agency has long been accused of disseminating pro-CCP propaganda and censoring news events and people who criticised the Chinese government. Reporters Without Borders labelled the organisation as “The World’s Biggest Propaganda Machine” (RSF, 2005). Attempts have been made to feature greater transparency and reliability in its news coverage by granting news reporters greater freedom, however its overall effectiveness is still being debated upon (McMaster, 2008).