The BBC World Service has announced the creation of the Global China Unit, a new team that will focus on reporting stories on the country’s role in the world.
The team will produce a range of original journalism that will be available on the World Service and wider BBC platforms. It will look to answer how China’s economic rise and global influence impacts the rest of the world through analytical, investigative and human interest stories.
Liz Gibbons, BBC Executive News Editor, says: “It is becoming harder than ever to tell the story of China within China, so the formation of this unit is incredibly important. We have an exceptionally talented team who will focus their expertise to uncover a range of stories that look at how China is changing the world.”
The Global China Unit was unveiled as part of a series of events for World Service Presents. There was also a taster of the team’s first piece of work, released today.
The report explores how Chinese companies have taken big stages in mines across the world that extract minerals vital to the green economy. These minerals, such as cobalt, lithium and nickel, are crucial for green technology such as electric vehicle batteries.
As Chinese businesses have expanded their investments, they have faced allegations of abuses similar to those often levelled at many other international mining giants. The team spoke to Chinese workers in Argentina and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as local communities there and in Indonesia.
The full report, called Tensions Grow as China Ramps up Mining for Key Minerals Used in Green Tech, can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-68896707 and will also feature on TV and radio on BBC World Service platforms this week.
Over the last decade, the BBC World Service has been at the forefront of investigative journalism, holding those in established power to account and exposing crime and corruption.
The launch, at BBC World Service Presents, also saw a panel discuss coverage of the global China story, with Runako Celina, Rachel Cheung and Christian Geraud-Neema, hosted by BBC Asia Pacific Editor Celia Hatton.
ED
About BBC World Service Presents
BBC World Service Presents showcases the breadth of journalism provided by the BBC World Service to 318m people weekly around the globe across 42 language services including English. For three days from Monday 29 April, screenings, live programme recordings, speeches and panel discussions will examine the key issues facing journalism and highlight the BBC’s unique position as the world’s most trusted international news broadcaster.
About BBC World Service
The BBC is the world’s most trusted international news broadcaster – committed to providing accurate, impartial, and independent news to audiences around the world. The BBC World Service is the BBC’s international broadcaster, delivering a wide range of programmes and services on radio, TV, and digitally. It reaches a weekly audience of around 318 million people each week (BBC Global Audience Measure 2023) and operates in 42 languages, including English.