As early as the 1950s Chinese authorities started to publish journals and magazines in foreign languages for propagandistic purposes abroad, including publications in English, German and a number of other languages. Political issues were mainly reported by the weekly "Peking Review" ("Beijing Review" from 1979), whereas the monthly "China Reconstructs" (later "China Today") focused on features on culture, daily life and general knowledge on China.

These publications in foreign languages (meant for international readers) sometimes reported on sensitive political issues that were presented in a different way (or completely omitted) in the official Chinese language media.

The foreign language publications also took up issues such as big-character posters, human rights and democracy debates in China or the arrests of dissidents that had already been widely reported to Western audiences by international media, and they tried to present the official views from Beijing on such events and debates.