Beijing Is Paying U.S. Media Giants To Publish Its Propaganda

One U.S. outlet took $700,000. The list only gets worse.

A Chinese government publication paid some of America’s most powerful media companies to share Beijing-friendly propaganda with their readers, Department of Justice records reveal.

The articles did not look like Chinese government advertisements. They looked like American journalism — intentionally.

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China Daily, which TIME openly identifies as “an official publication of the People’s Republic of China,” paid outlets including the Los Angeles Times, TIME, the Financial Times, Foreign Policy and USA Today to distribute what its own Foreign Agents Registration Act filings call “informational and advertorial materials.”

The content is still live.

Readers can find glowing articles about Xi Jinping, Communist Party officials, Chinese state investment and deeper U.S.-China cooperation presented in the same format as conventional news stories.

A November 2021 FARA filing from China Daily Distribution Corporation reveals that, during just six months, the operation reported the following advertising expenses:

• TIME USA: $700,000

• Financial Times: $292,878

• Los Angeles Times: $272,000

• Foreign Policy: $268,000

• USA Today: $57,500

China Daily separately reported paying the Los Angeles Times another $103,207.20 to print its newspaper in Los Angeles.

During the same reporting period, China Daily Distribution Corporation disclosed receiving more than $5.5 million from its headquarters in Beijing.

The arrangement continues.

A May 2026 FARA filing again states that China Daily facilitates the publication of “informational and advertorial materials in U.S. media.”

China Daily’s May 2026 FARA filing, covering November 2025 through April 2026, disclosed advertising payments to:

• Financial Times: $210,360

• Los Angeles Times: $136,000

• TIME USA: $123,000

• USA Today: $53,750

The same filing reveals that China Daily paid to print its newspaper across major American cities and international markets, listing:

• The Boston Globe: $91,026.92 for Boston printing

• Los Angeles Times: $83,875 for Los Angeles printing

• The Houston Chronicle: $69,168.80 for Houston printing

• Hawaii Hochi Ltd.: $63,022.05 for Hawaii printing

• The Seattle Times: $57,858.71 for Seattle printing

• Sun Sentinel Company: $30,086.98 for Miami printing

• Chicago Tribune: $27,300 for Chicago printing

The filings expose the financial structure behind an influence operation hiding in plain sight.

The Los Angeles Times hosts an entire “China Watch” section containing articles with headlines, photographs, bylines and the visual presentation of ordinary news reports.

A disclaimer labels the pages a “Paid Program” and states that the material was either produced by the newspaper’s advertising department or supplied by the advertiser. The newsroom was not involved.

That disclaimer does not change what readers see: Chinese government messaging wrapped inside the authority and visual credibility of the Los Angeles Times.

One sponsored article, “Experts Hail New Focus on Sino-U.S. Ties,” promotes Xi Jinping’s demand for “constructive strategic stability” between Washington and Beijing.

It claims a meeting between Xi and President Donald Trump strengthened mutual trust and “sent positive signals to the international community.”

Another, “Digital Power Helps Deliver Rural Revival,” celebrates “grassroots Party workers” using livestreams, mobile phones and government training programs to advance Communist Party initiatives.

“Farming Cultivates Winning Partnership” describes agriculture as a “ballast” for U.S.-China relations and presents closer engagement with Beijing as beneficial to American farmers and businesses.

“Ping-Pong Friendship Thrives Across the Decades” promotes Xi’s initiative to bring 50,000 young Americans to China and quotes an American athlete praising the “true humanity and love” she experienced there.

“Island’s Green Transition Drives Long-Term Growth” touts Chinese state investment, government environmental programs, artificial intelligence monitoring and centralized development policies as a successful economic model.

TIME maintains a similar China Daily branded-content section.

Its disclosure is even more direct:

“This content was paid for and prepared by China Daily, an official publication of the People’s Republic of China.”

TIME states that neither its editorial department nor its advertising department created the material.

The live collection includes:

• “Tapestry Expanding Its Footprint to More Cities”

• “A Miracle Woven in Silk”

• “Ping-Pong Friendship Thrives Across the Decades”

• “Enterprises Eye China’s Huge Consumer Market”

• “Foreign Luxury Firms See China Sales Surge”

• “The Imperceptible Steps to ‘Becoming Chinese’”

An earlier China Daily article titled “Drones Take Drudgery Out of Farmwork” promoted agricultural drones manufactured by DJI, the Chinese technology company targeted by the U.S. government over national security concerns.

The story boasted that DJI had sold more than 40,000 agricultural drones and portrayed the company as helping farmers improve productivity. Its appearance on TIME was documented as paid China Daily partner content, although the original TIME page is no longer readily accessible.

The FARA filings do not link every individual payment to a specific sponsored article. They do, however, establish the central fact.

An official Chinese state publication paid major American media companies. Those companies gave it access to their websites, their audiences and the credibility of their names.

The media is the enemy of the people indeed.