Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

CGTN (Opinion)

Chinese state (Chinese Communist Party-controlled)

Owned byOwned by China Media Group (CMG), the Chinese state media conglomerate formed in 2018 from CCTV, China Radio International and China National Radio. CMG reports to the Chinese Communist Party's Publicity (Propaganda) Department. CGTN is the international arm of CCTV.
FundingFunded by the Chinese government. It does not rely on subscriptions or independent advertising. It is distributed internationally through cable, satellite, social media and partnerships.
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

CGTN launched in December 2016 as a rebrand of CCTV's English-language international channels (CCTV-9 and others). It added hubs in Washington, Nairobi and London. In 2018 it came under the new China Media Group, which answers to the Party's propaganda apparatus. In February 2021 the UK regulator Ofcom revoked CGTN's British broadcast licence. It found that the Communist Party, which UK law bars from holding a licence, held ultimate editorial control. Ofcom had also found earlier that CGTN broke impartiality rules in its coverage of the Hong Kong protests. China responded by banning BBC World News. In the U.S., CGTN has been required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as an agent of the Chinese government. Its opinion pieces typically back Chinese government positions on Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the South China Sea, and they criticize U.S. policy. In 2026 its coverage of the Trump administration has stressed tariffs as damaging and legally shaky. It has covered the Supreme Court's tariff ruling, lawsuits by states, and a CGTN poll claiming over 90% of respondents called Trump's tariff policy a failure. Its framing is that of a state outlet: it is polished and widely distributed, but it does not run independent criticism of Beijing.

Sources

  1. UK Revokes Chinese State-Backed Network CGTN's Broadcasting License (Deadline)
  2. CGTN: UK regulators pull license of Chinese state-owned broadcaster (CNN)
  3. CGTN (TV channel) – Wikipedia
  4. UK broadcast regulator Ofcom revokes licence of China's CGTN (Al Jazeera)
  5. CGTN Poll: Over 90% respondents say Trump's tariff policy a failure
  6. The US tariff on Canada: A blind alley again (CGTN)

Profile compiled 2026-10-30; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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