China International Publishing Group (CIPG), known also as China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, is the largest foreign-language publisher in China. It was created in 1949. Since then, it has grown into a global publishing corporation that specializes in publication of books, magazines and online portals.
CIPG runs seven publishing houses. It issues more than 3,000 books a year and runs 50 journals in more than 10 languages. Some of its best known publications include Beijing Review, China Today, China Pictorial, People’s China and China Report.
Media assets
News portal: China Internet News Center, China Net, Digital Media Center
Publishing: Beijing Review, China Today, China Pictorial, People’s China Magazine, China Reports
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
CIPG is overseen and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, according to local journalists and experts interviewed for this report.
Source of funding and budget
CIPG is funded in a proportion of 78% through allocations from the state budget, according to CIPG’s latest annual report for 2020. The company also generates funding through sales of products (press and books).
Editorial independence
According to its status as a public institution under the Chinese government, CIPG operates in line with “central government’s guidelines and policies on external propaganda.” The company’s publications are known, according to local journalists and experts, as powerful instruments used by the Chinese government to communicate its views and policies to the entire world.
There is no statute and no independent assessment/oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of the media outlets owned by CIPG.
October 2023