China International Communications Group

China International Communications Group (CICG) is a foreign-language publishing and communications organization headquartered in Beijing, China, and owned and operated by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).[1] Established in October 1949 as the China International Publishing Group, it has developed into a global media corporation.[2]

China International
Communications Group
中国外文出版发行事业局
中国国际传播集团
Parent companyCentral Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party
StatusActive
FoundedJanuary 1949 (1949-01)
FounderSoong Ching-ling
Country of originChina
Headquarters locationBeijing
DistributionWorldwide
Key peopleDu Zhanyuan (Director)
Publication typesBooks, magazines and periodicals
Official websitewww.cicgcorp.com Edit this at Wikidata
China International Publishing Group
Traditional Chinese中國國際出版集團
Simplified Chinese中国国际出版集团
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó Guójì Chūbǎn Jítuán
China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration
Traditional Chinese中國外文出版發行事業局
Simplified Chinese中国外文出版发行事业局
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó Wàiwén Chūbǎn Fāxíng Shìyèjú

Organization edit

CICG owns seven subordinate publishing houses, i.e. Foreign Languages Press, New World Press, Morning Glory Publishers, Sinolingua, China Pictorial Publishing House, Dolphin Books, and New Star Publishers.[3][4] The organization annually publishes over 3,000 titles of books and around 50 journals in more than 10 languages.[5] Notable periodicals include Beijing Review, China Today, China Pictorial, People’s China, and China Report.[4] Its subsidiary, the China International Book Trading Corporation, is in charge of the distribution.[4][6]

It also runs 20 overseas branches in countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Egypt, Mexico, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,[4] with about 3,000 staff members, including around 100 foreign workers.[5]

In addition to publishing, CICG operates the China Internet Information Center.[7] It is also responsible for the implementation and management of the national translation test and appraisal for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.[4]

Employees edit

Prominent people who have worked in the CICG include Nobel Literature Prize-winning novelist and playwright Gao Xingjian, Nobel Prize-nominated poet Bei Dao, actor and politician Ying Ruocheng (known for his role in the Oscar-winning The Last Emperor), translators Yang Xianyi and Ye Junjian, author Xiao Qian, non-fiction novel writer Xu Chi, cartoonist Ding Cong, former Chinese Foreign Minister Qiao Guanhua, and former UN Undersecretary General (1972–1979) Tang Mingzhao.[citation needed]

Several foreign employees have also gained notoriety, including the pseudonymous author "Alex Hill," whose account of working as a foreign editor for the organization was widely read in 2015.[8] In his account, the author writes of feckless bureaucracy, political correctness, and a general feeling of malaise among the many foreigners working in the compound.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ "机构简介 _中国外文出版发行事业局". cicg.org.cn. Archived from the original on 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Clive; Ohlberg, Mareike (2020-09-03). Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World. Simon and Schuster. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-78607-784-4.
  3. ^ Shambaugh, David (2013-03-07). China Goes Global: The Partial Power. OUP USA. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-19-986014-2. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  4. ^ a b c d e "China International Publishing Group". China Internet Information Center. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b "China International Publishing Group". The London Book Fair. Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  6. ^ "China International Book Trading Corporation". Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  7. ^ "China International Publishing Group". China Book International. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  8. ^ a b "My life as a communist party stooge". Vice News. 2015-02-25. Archived from the original on 2015-07-30. Retrieved July 30, 2015.

External links edit