Globalization, the Chinese State and Television

This chapter advances an analytical framework for understanding how and why Chinese television has transformed within the global context, privileging the role of the Chinese state. Drawing on a critical review of dominant globalization theories, including cultural and media imperialism and their revisionist variants, the chapter advocates global transformation theories as a more nuanced lens for assessing China’s television globalization. By situating China within the Global South, this framework underscores both the distinctive contributions and the structural challenges China faces in the global media landscape. The analysis commences with an examination of television governance as a sub-branch of public policy, encompassing policy objectives, institutions, and instruments. It then traces how transformations in state policies have reshaped ownership, market structure, management, production values, and content across different administrative levels of television stations. By scrutinizing the alignment and misalignment between policy objectives and actual outcomes, the chapter elucidates the multifaceted power dynamics, technological, market, political, and cultural, that interact with state governance in shaping the historical trajectory of Chinese television globalization.