From Beijing to Dubai: TV station brings China and the UAE together Beijing
CGTN Arabic’s broadcast teams rise to the challenge of speaking to two nations
A n Arabic-language television channel giving China a voice in the UAE is aiming to bridge the gap between the Far East and the Middle East.
CGTN Arabic, housed in an enormous glass building in Beijing, has a mission to bring the “real China” to Arabic viewers.
Part of the state-owned China Global Television Network, the channel employs an all-Chinese workforce of 150, all of whom are fluent in Arabic.
When the station was launched in 2009, its staff regarded it as the perfect platform to display their Arabic language skills.
The National went behind the scenes to meet some of those responsible for celebrating two cultures.
On a wall covered with screens showing the network’s channels is an animation series with Arabian-looking men, police and children.
“We co-produce this show with Saudi TV. It tells the story of Chinese and Saudi children who live in the same neighbourhood. It is dubbed into Arabic,” said Jia Peng, director of the CGTN Arabic channel.
“We will also co-operate with Oman National TV to produce a show that tells the stories of Sindbad and the first Chinese sailors; so we are exchanging maritime tales.”
Jiang Qing is sitting at her screen editing the latest episode of Kunouz
Wataneya (National Treasures) – a show that highlights treasures found at emperors’ old palaces.
“In each episode we show three antiquities,” she said.
Like many of her colleagues, she did not have a media background before joining the station – only a strong grasp of Arabic.
“I studied Arabic at university and, when the channel was launched in 2009, they placed advertisements in universities for job opportunities. I was nominated by my instructors.
“I had to undergo three entrance exams in spoken and written Arabic and English. The media part they gave us training for.”
The channel also celebrates Arab and Muslim national holidays by broadcasting live from mosques, where Muslims are seen celebrating Eid, and carrying live coverage of celebrations in Muslim regions.
On Facebook alone, CGTN Arabic has more than 13.5 million followers. With correspondents in eight Arab countries and co-produced shows between China and Gulf countries, the network’s officials believe they are first of all building a bridge between China and the Arab world.
“The second goal is to explain the Chinese vision of Arab and global issues, and to cover Arab and Chinese functions and relations,” Mr Jia said, as the channel broadcast events from the Eighth Arab Chinese Forum in Beijing last week.
Opening their Mena bureau in Dubai has given them access to all the hot spots in the region.
Li Gang, the channel’s former Dubai correspondent, covered the Syrian crisis when it was at its peak in 2012.
“China is against any foreign interference in Syria, so our focus was to show the effect of the war on people’s lives,” he said. “The situation was very difficult for the people, there was inflation. And many refugees in Jordan and European countries.
“I stayed in Damascus, there were bombings and even the capital was a dangerous place. We wore bulletproof vests to move around.”
Currently the host of a political talk show that focuses on Arab issues from a Chinese perspective, Mr Li is keen to solve misunderstandings.
“Some western and Arab channels report misleading news about this region, so China wants to broadcast the real news to the Arab world,” he said.
“My biggest challenge is finding Arabic-speaking guests. We host Arab experts staying in Beijing, and try to host some professors from the foreign language university, but the number is very limited.
“So in future, we are planning to have guests from their countries through satellite,” he said.
“We want to be the bridge for political, cultural and humanitarian exchange between the Chinese and Arabs,” said Zhang Lu, a news anchor at the channel.
“I always wanted to become a war correspondent, but I was recruited as an anchor and I don’t have any field experience.”
Still, she is grateful that she practised media in Arabic.
“I spent half my life studying Arabic, and if I decided to pursue a media career in Chinese, I wouldn’t have as many opportunities,” she said.
CGTN Arabic is one of the network’s five foreign-language channels. The others are English, French, Spanish and Russian.