Exclusive | US launches new Mandarin network as Washington and Beijing battle for global influence
- Voice of America and Radio Free Asia join forces on a new service called ‘Global Mandarin’, which will focus on softer content to reach younger Chinese
The US government is planning a major new Mandarin-language initiative in an effort to bolster its global reputation at a time of Chinese ascendancy and eroding American soft power.
According to internal memos, job placement advertisements and interviews with people close to Washington’s information arms, Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) are joining forces on a new network called Global Mandarin.
Its annual budget would be between US$5 million and US$10 million, potentially rising in the second year, according to a source who requested anonymity given links to the networks, with the focus on softer content aimed at reaching younger Chinese in the US, China and beyond.
This follows a recent reorganisation and rebranding of US government information efforts. In 2017, VOA, RFA and other networks were put under the newly created US Agency for Global Media, an independent federal agency whose mission is to “inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy”.
According to a VOA memo to staff in September, the two US-funded services will gradually build out the new “digital brand” as an alternative to People’s Republic of China state media, “which promotes PRC narratives, values and misinformation”, it said.
Job listings for the new initiative describe it as a network operating 24/7 over social media, the internet, broadcast platforms and video channels. The project will combine the resources of various US government-funded media, in keeping with the agency’s new focus, to develop “platform-appropriate” Mandarin content. Its director will earn up to US$166,500 in part to “develop programming strategies that deliver to Chinese audiences”.