ICCs have been described as part of China's soft power initiatives and have represented a shift from foreign-directed propaganda being created at mostly the central government level to creation and dissemination by the country's provincial and local governments.[4][5][6] Certain ICCs have specific geographic and country targets for their messaging and act as fusion centers for pooling jurisdictional media resources.[1]: 5 They are known to leverage overseas institutional partners to increase their reach and use foreign influencers for astroturfing purposes.[1]
From 2021 to 2023, over 30 ICCs were created.[4] In June 2023, the country's ICCs organized a national association to better coordinate their work.[10] The same month, Shenzhen Media Group formed an ICC.[11]
In July 2023, the Fujian Media Group created an ICC at the direction of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CCP.[1]: 13 The Fujian ICC operates various social media accounts that post content against the Pan-Green Coalition in Taiwan, specifically the Democratic Progressive Party.[1]: 14 It also focuses efforts on Japan and Indonesia through its HolaFujian-brand social media accounts.[1]: 20 In October 2023, the Shanghai United Media Group launched an ICC called the Shanghai Global News Network (SGNN).[12] It operates social media accounts under the ShanghaiEye brand.[1]: 11
In November 2023, Guangdong launched an ICC that brands itself as GDToday and Daily Bae in English.[13] The same month, Shandong formed an ICC under the state-owned Shandong Television.[14] In January 2024, Hebei created its Great Wall International Communication Center (GWICC).[5] The GWICC subsequently partnered with Agência Brasil and also set up a liaison station in Milan.[1]: 18 In February 2024, the Hong Kong-based newspaper Ta Kung Pao partnered with the Heilongjiang Daily Newspaper Group to establish the Heilongjiang ICC, which focuses its external propaganda efforts on Russia and South Korea.[1]: 19
As of December 2024[update], over 70 ICCs have been established.[16] Many have struggled with hiring talent as native-level foreign language skills are required and, therefore, have begun signing cooperation agreements with foreign universities for talent.[16]
^ abBandurski, David (2024-07-04). "China Starts Influence Ranking for Cities". China Media Project. Archived from the original on 2024-07-06. Retrieved 2024-12-22. China Daily is a critical and well-funded layer of the country's international communication array. It seems to be serving as a media partner for many newly-created ICCs, particularly at the city level, where there may be less media savvy, and fewer resources, to handle external communication.
^ abcdFang, Shu (2024), Chang, Lu; de Araujo, Gabriel Antunes; Shi, Lei; Zhang, Qian (eds.), "Localization and Globalization, the Complexities and Strategies of Establishing Local International Communication Centers in China", Proceedings of the 2024 8th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2024), Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, vol. 867, Paris: Atlantis Press, pp. 573–579, doi:10.2991/978-2-38476-297-2_72, ISBN978-2-38476-296-5