As China continues its economic courting of Africa, Beijing has quietly been flexing its soft power, attempting to rebrand its image through closer ties with African media and a wider presence on the continent.
Last week, President Hu Jintao used his opening speech at the Forum on China-African Co-operation to call for enhanced media exchanges, highlighting them as a new approach to strengthening strategic partnerships.
'We should strive to boost friendship among the people ... China proposes setting up a Sino-Africa press exchange centre in the country, to mobilise communication between Chinese and African media, and to support exchange programmes for journalists from both sides,' Hu said.
Zhan Jiang , a professor of journalism at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that although such exchanges between the two sides were not new, this was 'the first time the strategy has been endorsed at such a high level'.
The Chinese government has been offering training programmes for both African government press officers and journalists since 2004. According to state media, about 300 government officials and senior executives at media outlets from 48 African countries had attended such programmes by last year. Workshops for African journalists had also been organised during the period.
The programmes, managed by the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Commerce, provide courses on hard skills, such as broadcasting and the use of new media. But they focus more on introducing African journalists to social and economic change in China via trips to factories, economic zones and historical sites outside Beijing.