The Xinhua News Agency is the official state-run news agency of the People’s Republic of China. With an extensive array of digital platforms and a diverse portfolio comprising over 20 newspapers and a dozen magazines, Xinhua stands as the preeminent news content provider globally. In addition to its news content produced in over ten languages, Xinhua also publishes more than 30 print media, including newspapers and magazines. In 2010, the agency also initiated the launch of CNC World, a 24-hour television channel.
Media assets
News agency: Xinhua
Publishing: Reference News (Cānkǎo Xiāoxī)
Television: CNC World
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Xinhua is a ministry-level institution that is accountable to the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, which represents the Chinese government. Together with People’s Daily, it represents the pinnacle of Chinese media outlets in terms of influence. The chair of Xinhua is selected from among the high-ranking officials who are members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Source of funding and budget
Xinhua is wholly financed by the Chinese government, as evidenced by its classification as a state entity within the broader state budget of the central administration, as reported by local journalists and experts interviewed for this report in March 2024.
Documents from the Xinhua agency indicate that in 2024, the organization operated with a budget of CNY 6.17bn (equivalent to approximately US$ 877m). State budget allocations and other state subsidies constituted approximately 60% of the total budget, while business income accounted for over 40% of the agency’s expenditure.
Editorial independence
Xinhua has been granted exclusive rights to report on the most significant developments pertaining to the Communist Party and the Chinese government. The agency is regarded by officials as a government unit with the responsibility of producing official content in accordance with a set of rigorous editorial instructions.
In addition to the news content created for the general public, the agency also oversees a series of journals and newsletters that are exclusively distributed to government and party officials. Xinhua journalists, based in nearly every country worldwide, are responsible for the production of the aforementioned reports.
For instance, the periodical Reference News, which compiles translated articles from a multitude of global sources, is personally delivered to party officials by the respective correspondents.
Additionally, the agency produces a series of reports that are deemed to be of a highly classified nature, which are disseminated to a select few high-ranking officials from the upper echelons of the Chinese government.
There is no legal framework in place, nor an independent assessment mechanism, to validate the editorial independence of Xinhua, which represents the most significant state-sponsored propaganda apparatus within the Chinese government.
September 2024