The event was attended by Dmitry Kiselev, General Director of the Russian News Agency ‘Rossiya Segodnya’ (via an electronic conference), the Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov, the official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova (via electronic conference), representatives from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenshchikov, chief editors of prominent Chinese media outlets, bloggers, and journalists.
In a congratulatory speech on the occasion of the opening of the new ‘Sputnik China’ office in Beijing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova affirmed that the agency has been present in the Chinese market for more than ten years and is considered one of the most famous Russian media outlets in the country. She added, “I am confident that cooperation in the media field fully contributes to strengthening and improving Russian-Chinese relations, as well as a comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction.”
During the opening of the ‘Sputnik’ office in Beijing, part of the photography exhibition for the project ‘Liberation… Peace for Nations’ was displayed, including a unique photo archive from the ‘SovInformBureau’ office from the war years.
Saxophonist Sergey Golovnya and pianist Oleg Starikov presented guests with classic Russian jazz performances, while the ‘Kremlin Legend’ band, a partner of the event, prepared special cocktails.
‘Rossiya Segodnya’, the parent group of the ‘Sputnik’ agency, is an international media group tasked with providing fast and balanced coverage of global events, informing the public of various perspectives on major events. The agency sets specific constructive goals for itself, without interfering in the internal affairs of the countries where it operates. Its main mission is to present a fair image of Russia and make it understood in different regions, and to connect nations with the agency’s audience, which numbers millions worldwide.
The ‘Rossiya Segodnya’ media group offers a wide range of information sources: it unites ‘Sputnik’ websites and social media networks in more than 30 languages, broadcasts in 14 languages, and provides news briefs in Russian, English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and Persian. There are 24 ‘Sputnik’ multimedia centers worldwide.
In Russia, the media group represents the leading news agency ‘RIA Novosti’ and its website ‘ria.ru’, the ‘Balt News’ agency, as well as information sources ‘Prime’, ‘Inosmi’, ‘Ukraina.ru’, ‘Tochka/Koht’, ‘Social Navigator’, ‘Arctic.ru’, the ‘RIA Rating’ economic research center, and ‘Sputnik’ radio.
‘Sputnik China’ has been an integral part of the Chinese media landscape for more than ten years. It is the only foreign media outlet granted full licenses to operate in China. ‘Sputnik China’ includes a news website, a mini-application on ‘WeChat’, accounts on ‘Weibo’ where ‘Sputnik’ subscribers outnumber all its Western competitors combined, ‘Bilibili’, and a mobile application.
