„China and the world are currently facing ever-changing, complicated situations. Communication technologies are also developing rapidly. Therefore, it is important to keep up to date with the new media and to choose the communication method favored by the public to help them better understand China, „said Xu Lin, deputy head of the public relations department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party China and Head of the Press Office of the State Council.
Xu spoke at the „China Spokespersons Forum,“ co-hosted by the State Council’s Press Office and Peking University’s National Institute of Strategic Development.
The development of the Chinese press release system is closely linked to the country’s opening process. The system has now been institutionalized. In addition, the timely publication of information, especially in emergencies, has become a general consensus, Xu added.
To better reach out to the public, the State Department spokesperson’s office opened a user account on the popular Chinese social media app, WeChat, in January, said Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang. Since the beginning of 1983, the Ministry has been constantly seeking to improve the quality of the information published at its press conferences. Today, it organizes more than 200 press conferences annually and publishes 3,000 statements in various languages, Geng said.
„The quality of information is the lifeblood of press releases. We’ve been trying to combine what we want to say and what the media are looking for. In addition, we’re trying to make the diplomatic expressions more lifelike to domestic and foreign audiences, „said Geng.
It is clear to the Department of Defense that the use of new media is a must to let the public hear the voice of the People’s Liberation Army. Therefore, she was determined to use them more efficiently in the future, said Wu Qian, spokesman for the ministry. The Department of Defense opened in 2015 user accounts at WeChat and China’s Twitter equivalent Sina Weibo. The ministry also released cartoons and videos to raise public awareness of the People’s Liberation Army, Wu said.
Chinese state-owned companies would increasingly attach more importance to setting up a press release system for their overseas branches as they continue to expand their foreign business, said Lü Dapeng, spokesman for China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec). The company has now established a team of 50 spokespersons for the overseas markets as well as Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Regardless of which media platforms government agencies choose to publish news, they conclude that they should never try to cover up the facts or ignore the public demand for truth, said Cheng Manli, director of Beijing University’s National Institute for Strategic Communication ,
