ABC’s international budget should grow as China spends billions on information war, inquiry told

Parliament hears media in Asia and the Pacific are being courted by Beijing in an ‘unprecedented campaign’

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China is spending billions to win the information war in the region, a committee inquiry has heard, and greater funding for the ABC would allow it to be a stronger presence in the Asia-Pacific.

Claire Gorman, the ABC’s head of international services, told the inquiry into supporting democracy in the region that China is spending at least $3bn a year on international media, compared with $11m for the ABC.

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