Soft power push seen in China TV deals

A hard hat-clad American television host grips bamboo and steel scaffolding, the dizzying urban landscape of China's commercial centre Shanghai unfolding far below him.

"I'm bringing cameras and questions to places outsiders are rarely permitted, to investigate the aspirations of the world's fastest-growing middle class," architect Danny Forster tells Discovery viewers.

Both the cameras - and the questions - are co-funded by the Chinese government.

Beijing has long sought to boost its "soft power" abroad, spending billions of yuan on expanding the international presence of its state-run media - including broadcaster CCTV and official news agency Xinhua - and through its government-sponsored language centres, known as Confucius Institutes.

Now, the Communist Party appears to be investing heavily in "documentaries" on China that are hosted by foreign television personalities and air on major international networks, but are created under the auspices of the party's messaging chiefs.

The State Council Information Office (SCIO) unveiled its latest offering last week in Beijing at the premiere of How China Works, a series that will air on The Discovery Channel.

The show is part of a three-year deal in which Discovery will air an hour of Beijing-approved, China-themed programming each week, reaching as many as 90 million viewers in 37 countries and territories.