Chinese whispers: rivalling the BBC
This week the world witnessed a significant statement from the Chinese president Hu Jintao at the UN summit of 100 world leaders - significant in part because of his commitment to curbing the "intensity" of China's CO2 emissions.
But more - as we explore in this week's programme - because Hu Jintao was playing to the gallery - that's you and me in this multi-media electronic age - and clearly recognising the reach and influence over global public opinion this stage afforded him.
President of China Hu Jintao addresses the 64th General Assembly debate of United Nations.
It's reported that the Chinese are spending billions of dollars on what party insiders call "overseas propaganda" i.e. achieving a greater presence in the competitive media market. We are talking English (and French,Spanish, Arabic and so on) versions of newspapers like the Global Times and CCTV - the state broadcaster. The ultimate aim is to provide a rival for Al Jazeera, CNN and yes, the BBC.
According to the BBC's China Editor, Shirong Chen, this great leap outward of soft power isn't guaranteed success just by having huge resources pumped into it.
"Of course, we know audience reception is not like that," he told me in an interview that you can hear in this week's Over To You. "It's not what you say, it's what the audiences choose to accept or to hear."
Quite simply there will always be a credibility and impartiality issue which any Chinese-based international broadcaster would have to overcome. And how easily would this sit with a seemingly tighter grip on domestic media, publications and websites in China itself ?
Nonetheless, would our understanding of the world and the quality of global media benefit from such a presence in the commercial media market?
Rajan Datar is the Presenter, Over To You
Over To You is your chance to have your say about the BBC
World Service and its programmes. It airs at 10:40 and 23:40 every Saturday, and at 02:40 on Sunday (GMT).
- Listen to previous episodes of Over To You
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