http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=124877&d=26&m=7&y=2009
Sunday 26 July 2009 (04 Sha`ban 1430)
Beijing courts Middle East with Arabic TV channel
Mohammed Rasooldeen | Arab News
RIYADH: China Central Television (CCTV) launched an
Arabic-language channel for the Middle East and Africa on Saturday as part of
the government's efforts to expand its relations with the Arab and Muslim
world, the Chinese Embassy announced here.
The 24-hour channel will air in 22 Arabic-speaking countries,
reaching a total population of nearly 300 million people, CCTV said in a
statement at the launch of the new service. The new channel is available
through Nilesat and Arabsat services for viewers in the Middle East.
"This is the fourth foreign-language channel we are
introducing, after English, French and Spanish," the official spokesman from
the embassy told Arab News.
The spokesman said that the new channel would serve as an
important bridge to strengthen communication and understanding between China
and Arab countries. Furthermore, he added that his country wants to show the
real China to the Arab world through this channel. "We would like to project a
clear image of our country in this part of the world."
The channel, which has a budget of $6.6 billion, will carry
news, feature stories, entertainment and educational programs.
Musad Al-Zayani, a Saudi journalist who watched the new
channel, described it as a comprehensive stream that enables Arab viewers to
learn about Chinese culture and heritage. "This is going to bring China and the
Arab region closer than ever," he said.
Beijing is carrying out a multibillion-dollar effort to raise
the profile of its state media abroad by expanding CCTV, the Communist Party
newspaper People's Daily and the official Xinhua news agency reported in
Beijing soon after the launch.
The launch of the Arabic channel comes in the wake of China's
rapid economic growth and rising global influence. China gets more than half of
its imported oil and natural gas from the Middle East, while countries in the
region look to China for investments. Many analysts say the growing commercial
ties between these two regions are redefining geopolitics.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
