China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in the Babaoshan area of Beijing’s Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It later adopted the pinyin form Radio Beijing.
CRI states that it “endeavours to promote favourable relations between the PRC and the world” while upholding the PRC’s official positions. As with other nations’ external broadcasters such as Voice of America, BBC World Service and Radio Australia, CRI claims to “play a significant role in the PRC’s soft power strategy” and Go Out policy, aiming to expand the influence of Chinese culture and media in a global stage. CRI attempts to employ new media and partnerships with other media outlets to compete with other international media. Unlike other broadcasters, CRI’s control via indirect majority ownership or financial support of radio stations in various nations is not publicly disclosed.
CRI is presently the international radio arm of the China Media Group, under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, created following the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress in March 2018.
In February 2020, the United States Department of State designed CRI and other Chinese state-owned media outlets as foreign missions.