Cooperating on news coverage a big goal for Chinese, Russian governments: Report

A bilateral agreement signed between China and Russia in July 2021 makes clear that cooperating on news coverage and narratives is a big goal for both governments, according to a report in The Intercept, an America-based publication.

The report says that: "At a virtual summit that month, leading Russian and Chinese government and media figures discussed dozens of cooperative ventures, including exchanging news content, trading digital media strategies, and co-producing television shows."

The summit was held at the effort of Russia's Ministry of Digital Development, Communication and Mass Media, and by China's National Radio and Television Administration.

The two sides, in the propaganda agreement, pledged to "further cooperate in the field of information exchange, promoting objective, comprehensive and accurate coverage of the most important world events".

They also planned to cooperate on online and social media wherein both countries spread disinformation. They pledged to strengthen "mutually beneficial cooperation in such issues as integration, the application of new technologies, and industry regulation."

"In 2020, the independent Russian-language news outlet Meduza reported the existence of such propaganda agreements, which have resulted in a proliferation of pro-Beijing stories in Russian media," according to The Intercept report.

The report also says that: "But this is the first time that the text of an agreement has been published. The Ministry of Digital Development did not respond to a request for comment, and the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment."

According to The Intercept, TASS and Xinhua, both state news agencies, pledged to exchange reporting, and other state outlets agreed to publish supplements promoting the other country.

According to Chinese and Russian news reports, both countries held annual media cooperation meetings since 2008. Though the partnership between the two appears to be aimed at domestic media, both countries have in the past decade, expanded their overseas media presence.

Recently, it was reported that the United States is concerned about China's alignment with Russia amid the war in Ukraine and closely monitoring Beijing's activity to see if the country provides any military or sanctions evasion assistance to Moscow, a State Department spokesperson has said.

"Beijing claims to be neutral, but its behaviour makes clear it is still investing in close ties to Russia," the US spokesperson said in a statement to American broadcaster CNN.

( With inputs from ANI )

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