China’s ambitions to play a more significant role in contributing to global news channels still has some way to go, writes Willy Lam. 

Immediately after Beijing had wowed the world with missiles and jetfighters that were showcased in China’s biggest-ever military parade on October 1, the Hu Jintao administration hosted a World Media Summit to highlight the country’s eagerness to project soft power.
Apart from the mammoth state-run Xinhua News Agency, News Corp, Time Warner, Associated Press and Reuters were the co-hosts of what the Chinese press called the “media Olympics.” At least three Chinese Communist Party Politburo members hobnobbed with delegates from more than 170 news organizations.
In his keynote address to the summit, President Hu vowed to boost “cooperation and win-win development” with the international media. The president won plaudits for pledging to “safeguard the legal rights of foreign news organizations and reporters” and to facilitate the work of China-based foreign correspondents. But he also admonished them to “objectively report the reality of a multi-polar world and [the existence of] disparate civilizations,” adding that foreign journalists should “enthusiastically encourage the development and progress of developing countries.” While Hu’s guarantees seemed to be at variance with the dozens of cases of state security agents roughing up foreign and Hong Kong reporters in Xinjiang, Tibet and other places this year, overseas media moguls attending the conference did not quarrel with the supremo of the fast-emerging quasi-superpower. They were more interested in the possibility of doing business in this market of 1.3 billion people.
For example, News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch urged the Chinese government to open up the news and digital markets. Murdoch said in his address to the conference that this would immensely raise the standards of domestic media companies, which, he said, "operate in a market that is sheltered and so they are not exposed to the competition that would prepare them for the rigors of the global marketplace.”
Murdoch also cited the need for Chinese firms to better respect intellectual property rights. Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, multinationals in areas ranging from autos to insurance have not only set up wholly owned subsidiaries in the country, but also reaped substantial profits. Yet foreign media have largely been barred. Last month, however, the State Council or central government indicated that multinational media firms would soon be able to finance and produce cultural and entertainment materials and programs for the China market. While details have yet to be spelled out, it is understood that such activities must be done in conjunction with Chinese joint-venture partners.
Moreover, hard news is still off limits. Another significant goal of the World Media Summit is that Beijing is seeking the cooperation of multinationals for its ambitious plans to vastly expand the foreign language operations of its own media.
Earlier this year, the CCP leadership decided to earmark more than $6.5 billion to launch a series of news ventures including possibly a "Chinese CNN” to be run by Xinhua, to project China’s image as a modern, globalized, and peace-loving quasi-superpower. Apart from Xinhua, media including the People’s Daily and Global Times have boosted their contents in English and other major languages. These relatively staid party-run news units have also splurged big on hiring experienced Western editors and broadcasters to spruce up their foreign language contents. It must be noted, however, that at a time when the CCP leadership is putting top priority on upholding socio-political stability, party and state units such as the Department of Publicity, the Department of Overseas Propaganda, the State Council Information Office, and the National Administration of Press and Publications would be keeping close tabs on both traditional and new media. This applies to the selected few multinational news organizations that may be allowed to boost their investment and exposure in China in the coming year or two. Beijing has substantially improved its skills in presenting a more tolerant and harmonious China to the outside world. For example, foreign reporters were allowed to go into Urumqi, Xinjiang, one day after the worst ethnic violence in recent memory broke out there on July 5 this year. Yet whether the foreign-language contents produced by state-run media will prove attractive to international audiences remains a big question. For instance, the new Global Times English-language newspaper and website are professionally designed. Yet their contents remain basically what Western media experts would call state propaganda. While President Hu and other top CCP cadres have underscored Beijing’s commitment to globalization, they have yet to accept the fact that global values such as transparency and freedom of expression – by both domestic reporters and China-based foreign correspondents – must be respected. ■