The Propaganda Axis: TASS and Xinhua Join Forces for Beijing's Ideological and Digital War

The alignment between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China (PRC) reached a new and significant strategic level on September 2, 2025, when, during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China, the state news agencies TASS and Xinhua adopted a five-year cooperation strategy (2026-2030).

The document is not a mere commercial agreement, but a coordinated action to "give a joint voice to the global information space." The strategy outlines the intensification of the exchange of news feeds and audiovisual material, the increase in joint activities on social media, and the implementation of specific projects on economics and, crucially, Artificial Intelligence (AI), with the goal of establishing common standards.

This pact consolidates the Beijing-Moscow axis, which works in tandem to push against what it perceives as a weakened West. The agreement fits perfectly into the influence strategy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which considers the manipulation and control of information a fundamental pillar for achieving its global pre-eminence and for the transformation of the international order. The goal of a "joint voice" is the direct and sophisticated application of the Chinese doctrine: the "Three Warfares" (San Zhong Zhan).

The Public Opinion Warfare (舆论战, Yúlùn Zhàn) as a State Instrument

The Chinese strategic doctrine of the "Three Warfares" (San Zhong Zhan) is the conceptual basis that allows the CCP to achieve strategic goals through non-military confrontation. The TASS-Xinhua agreement is the direct application of Public Opinion Warfare (Yúlùn Zhàn), a pillar that aims at the "cognitive orientation" of the masses to "constrain their behavior."

1. The Showcase of Authoritarian "Successes"

The media alliance is a vehicle for presenting China and Russia as superior governance models compared to liberal democracies.

• Domestic and Global Legitimation: The agreement formalizes the apparatus to extol the regimes' successes, such as China's capacity to manage health crises with the "Zero-COVID" policy or to achieve the goal of "eliminating extreme poverty." This internal narrative is projected externally to legitimize the Party and the authoritarian model.

• Neutralization of Criticism: The goal is to present China as a "responsible" and "reliable" actor, diverting attention from human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet or the repression of democracy in Hong Kong. The joint media can amplify the CCP's denials and the accusations against the West of "hegemonism, power politics, and unilateralism."

• Coordinated Digital Propaganda: The exchange of content and the intensification of activities on social media allow them to bypass the restrictions of Western platforms. State media networks like Xinhua and CGTN, and their Russian counterparts, work to manipulate search engine and social media algorithms, conveying a narrative that exalts CCP values.

2. Ideological Expansion and Co-optation

Public Opinion Warfare is intrinsically linked to the United Front (FU) strategy, whose purpose is to co-opt foreign elites and organizations in support of the CCP.

• Influencing Elites: The media alliance provides global coverage that the CCP can exploit to cultivate relationships with politicians, academics, and businesses abroad. Through joint press conferences and interviews, the two regimes' media can give visibility and legitimacy to foreign figures who support the Sino-Russian narrative, thereby co-opting them.

• Authoritarian Development Model: The collaboration media offers a global stage to promote the authoritarian governance model as a functional and successful alternative to the perceived chaos of democracies. The goal is to persuade developing countries that socialism with Chinese characteristics (and, by extension, Russian authoritarianism) is a valid path to achieve economic growth while maintaining political stability.

• Cultural Pressure: The joint dissemination of cultural and educational content, especially through digital platforms, aims to normalize the presence and ideology of the two regimes in target countries, reducing resistance to their policies.

The Technological Dimension and Strategic Convergence

The agreement on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and common standards is the most crucial element for understanding the strategic horizon of the alliance, with direct implications for the Digital Silk Road (DSR) and military security.

1. The AI Force Multiplier and Cyber Sovereignty

AI is considered by the CCP to be the driving force of the next revolution in military affairs, culminating in "intelligent warfare."

• Illiberal Standards: The commitment to establish common standards is a step to promote norms that reinforce Beijing's "cyber sovereignty." This concept, which justifies censorship and data localization, is contrasted with the multi-stakeholder model promoted by democracies and seeks to undermine the principle of an open and global Internet.

• Support for MCF: AI fits perfectly into the Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) strategy, which mandates Chinese companies and institutions (including agencies like Xinhua) to support the modernization of the PLA. The integration of Russian data and know-how into Chinese AI can accelerate the development of crucial military capabilities in sectors such as reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and command and control.

• Digital Neo-Colonialism: The technological collaboration strengthens the Digital Silk Road, which exports surveillance tools and the illiberal governance model to developing countries, creating new technological dependencies on Beijing.

2. Synergy with Psychological and Legal Warfare

Joint information operations serve to strategically support the other components of the San Zhong Zhan:

• Psychological Warfare (Xīnlĩ Zhàn): The coordinated dissemination of a narrative that undermines Western credibility aims to demoralize the enemy and sow doubt among citizens of democracies. The potential use of deepfakes or AI-generated disinformation (a declared area of cooperation) elevates the psychological threat to unprecedented levels.

• Legal Warfare (Fãlǜ Zhàn): The media alliance provides an echo chamber for the revisionist interpretations of international law promoted by Beijing and Moscow. The joint media can amplify China's territorial claims in the South China Sea or over Taiwan, as well as Moscow's legal arguments, contributing to a strategy of "lawfare" to legitimize their actions globally.

Geopolitical Implications and Conclusion

The TASS-Xinhua agreement, scheduled for a crucial period (2026-2030), formalizes a global information apparatus that acts as a "force multiplier" for the CCP's long-term strategy.

• Geopolitical Support Against the West: Media cooperation reinforces the image of a united front within multilateral bodies such as the UN Security Council, where China and Russia have often coordinated their vetoes. The agreement sends a clear message to other authoritarian states and emerging countries about the presence of a solid and alternative bloc.

• Global Objective: The CCP's goal is to transform the world order, placing China at the center and subordinating freedom, national sovereignty, and human rights to the imperatives of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The partnership with Russia, as demonstrated by diplomatic cooperation during the conflict in Ukraine, is fundamental for stabilizing Beijing's position as it challenges the West in the Indo-Pacific (Taiwan, South China Sea).

• Institutional Challenge: The agreement is a concrete and coordinated step to challenge the liberal order and lead the reform of global governance. It is not just about friendship between two countries, but a deliberate action to impose their values through the systematic control of the global flow of information, combining the strength of soft power (culture and AI) with the clarity of hard power objectives (military strategy and economic coercion).