Alibaba to turn China's world image
The Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda boss, Liu Qibao, has extolled the success of Alibaba , the giant Internet company, as the kind of uplifting story that offsets the country’s reputation abroad as corrupt and authoritarian. “We have many iconic brands and archetypal individuals with many stories that people love to hear,” Liu told a conference of officials in January. Alibaba and similar success stories, he said, should be seen as “shining calling cards for the image of contemporary China.” The Alibaba Group, and party propaganda overseers in Beijing, are about to take that premise a step further, going beyond using the narrative of one of China’s most lucrative businesses to improve China’s reputation - and instead using its cash and digital skills. On Friday, the company announced that it would attempt to directly reshape global news coverage of China, which it says is too negative, by buying the media assets of the SCMP Group, including The South China Morning Post,...