At an “external propaganda work forum” for state-owned enterprises in Beijing yesterday, Wang Chen (王晨), head of the State Council Information Office (SCIO), said that as Chinese state-owned enterprises pursued a “going out” strategy, pushing more actively into global markets, “external propaganda work” concerned not only the development and reputation of China’s enterprises but also the shaping of the country’s international image and the enhancing of its cultural soft power.
“We must seize this historic opportunity,” said Wang, “applying ourselves diligently to innovation, giving full play to the role of enterprises, strengthening overall coordination, integrating the resources of our government, our enterprises and our media in a joint effort, pushing the external propaganda work of state-owned enterprises to a higher level.”
Representatives from China’s top state-owned enterprises gathered at the meeting, where they heard also from Liu Yunshan (刘云山), the chief of China’s Central Propaganda Department, and Li Rongrong (李荣融), head of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).
Top brass from China’s state-run media were also reportedly in attendance.
Li Rongrong said during the forum that the “going out” of China’s state-owned enterprises had already in recent years been “a important force in our country’s massive external propaganda effort.” These experiences, he said, must be gathered, assessed and learned from. [Read more about SASAC at the China Leadership Monitor]
[Frontpage image by Toga Wanderings available at Flickr.com under Creative Commons license.]