Why Chinese Media Reject Press Releases: 12 Reasons Editors Say No
A release written for a US or European wire usually fails Chinese editorial review for reasons that have nothing to do with writing quality. Here are the twelve checks that decide whether your text gets published, placed in a commercial channel, or sent back.
Key takeaways
- China's Advertising Law bans absolute superlatives — 国家级, 最高级, 最佳, 第一, 唯一 — and the same wording that is merely overstated in English is a legal problem in Chinese.
- The law also requires advertising to be identifiable as advertising, which is why media organisations separate news pages from commercial channels. Text with no news peg goes to the commercial channel or is rejected.
- Small formatting details get releases bounced: QR codes, WeChat IDs, phone numbers and outbound links inside the body.
- Regulated categories — medical, health, financial, education, cosmetics efficacy — need licences and pre-approval, not just careful wording.
- Politics is a hard stop, and so is material non-public information about a listed company. Neither is negotiable.
A press release written for a US or European wire, translated carefully and checked for grammar, can still be rejected outright by a Chinese outlet. The reason is almost never the writing. It is one of twelve specific things that Chinese editors and platform screening systems check for — and several of them are legal requirements rather than editorial preferences.
Here is the full list, roughly in the order they are screened.
The three that trigger hard rejection
1. Absolute superlatives
China's Advertising Law prohibits terms such as 国家级 (national-level), 最高级 (highest grade), 最佳 (best) and 第一 (number one) in advertising, along with a long list of similar absolutes. This is not a style guideline. It is a legal provision, and the exposure sits with the advertiser and the publishing platform, which is why platforms run automatic word filters and reject submissions that trip them.
The practical consequence for foreign teams is that overstated marketing language which is merely sloppy in English is a compliance problem in Chinese. “World-leading”, “unrivalled”, “the only solution that…” all have to be rewritten into verifiable statements, or dropped.
2. Content that is advertising presented as news
The same law requires that advertising be identifiable as advertising, and it explicitly bars media organisations from publishing advertising in the form of news. This is why outlets maintain separate news pages and commercial channels — and it is the structural reason a release with no news peg ends up in a commercial channel, or nowhere.
If your text is a product description with a date on top, it is advertising. That is fine — but be aware of what you are buying, and do not expect it to appear on a news page.
3. Politics, and anything touching leadership
Content referencing national leaders, territorial questions, military matters, ethnic or religious issues, or contested history is a hard stop, not a judgement call. This is not a topic to approach carefully; it is a topic to leave out. The same applies to anything that could be read as interpreting government policy in your own company's voice.
The four that get content stripped or bounced
4. QR codes, WeChat IDs and phone numbers in the body
Scan-this-code images, WeChat account IDs, personal mobile numbers and call-to-action buttons are routinely deleted. They read as a consumer advertisement rather than a corporate announcement. If contact information is necessary, keep it in the standard company boilerplate at the end — company name, one email address, one website.
5. Outbound links
Links in the body, and especially links in the first paragraph or in anchor text, are usually removed or treated as a rejection trigger. Many outlets allow a single URL in the closing boilerplate. Assume links will be stripped and make sure the release still makes sense without them.
6. Images you cannot prove you own
Chinese platforms are increasingly strict on image rights because the liability falls on them. Reverse-image search is common. Stock images need a licence you can produce, other companies' logos need permission, and photographs containing recognisable people engage portrait rights (肖像权). Product photographs taken by your own team are the safe default.
7. Traditional characters and mixed scripts
A release in Traditional Chinese, or one that mixes Simplified and Traditional characters in the same paragraph, reads as a reprint from Taiwan or Hong Kong and gets deprioritised. Consistency matters elsewhere too: pick one form for a company name — either the Chinese name or the Latin one — and use it throughout rather than alternating.
The three that need paperwork, not rewording
8. Regulated product categories
Medical devices, drugs, health supplements, cosmetics with efficacy claims, financial and investment products, and education services are all subject to category-specific rules. Some require a licence number to be cited; some prohibit specific claims outright; some require pre-approval before publication. If your product sits in one of these categories, establish the requirement before writing, because compliant wording cannot rescue an unlicensed advertiser.
9. Material non-public information about a listed company
If you are a listed company, or a subsidiary of one, price-sensitive information must be disclosed through the exchange first. A media release that breaks the news ahead of a formal disclosure is a regulatory problem for you, not for the outlet — and editors know it, so they will refuse.
10. Comparative claims about named competitors
China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law prohibits damaging a competitor's commercial reputation through false or misleading statements. Benchmark tables that name a rival and show your product winning are the most common trigger. Comparative data is acceptable when it is anonymised (“compared with three leading alternatives”) and sourced.
The two that read as amateur
11. Numbers with no source
“The market is worth USD 40 billion” without a citation, or a growth percentage with no methodology, will be cut or the whole paragraph removed. Chinese editors are comfortable with third-party sources but not with unsourced assertions, and a release that contains them looks like marketing copy with a date on it.
12. No news peg
“We are pleased to announce our continued commitment to innovation” is not news in any language, and in Chinese it is indistinguishable from an advertisement. Every release needs a dated, specific, verifiable event: a product launch with a release date, a funding round with an amount, a partnership with a named counterparty, a market entry with a city and a timeline.
Pre-flight checklist
| Check | What reviewers look for | Fix before submitting |
|---|---|---|
| Superlatives | 最, 第一, 唯一, 国家级, 顶级, 100% | Replace with a verifiable claim or a number |
| News peg | A dated, specific event in the first two sentences | Lead with the event, not the company |
| Contact details | QR codes, WeChat IDs, mobile numbers in body | Move to the closing boilerplate, one email only |
| Links | Outbound URLs, especially in paragraph one | Remove from body; at most one in the boilerplate |
| Images | Ownership, licences, identifiable people | Use only your own photographs |
| Script | Mixed Traditional and Simplified characters | Convert the whole document to Simplified |
| Category | Licence numbers, banned claims | Confirm requirements before writing |
| Comparative data | Named competitors | Anonymise and source |
What this means in practice
None of these rules prevent you from distributing a release in China. They change the order of work: compliance review comes before translation, and the news peg decides which layer of media your release can reach.
The releases that clear Chinese editorial review on the first pass are the ones where someone asked which specific event is being announced, which numbers can be verified, and which words are legally available — before a single sentence was written in Chinese.
Frequently asked questions
Can I include my website link in a Chinese press release?
Usually not in the body. Most commercial channels strip or reject outbound links, and many editorial desks remove them as well. The standard approach is to keep the URL out of the text and put it in the company boilerplate at the end, or let the outlet include your site in its own source line. If being cited with a link is essential to you, raise it before submission rather than after placement.
Are banned superlatives a real legal risk or just a style preference?
A real legal risk. China's Advertising Law explicitly prohibits terms such as 国家级, 最高级 and 最佳. In practice the risk falls on the advertiser and the publishing platform, which is why platforms screen for these words automatically and will reject a submission that contains them. This applies to translated marketing language, so a release that says best-in-class in English has to be rewritten rather than translated literally.
How long does it take to distribute a release in China?
Once the text is compliant and the outlet list is agreed, central-media commercial channels are typically live within one to two working days, portals and regional outlets within two to four, and self-publishing platforms the same day. The variable is rarely the publishing step. It is the review and rewriting cycle at the start — first drafts from non-Chinese teams usually need one or two rounds.
Do I need a Chinese entity or ICP licence to distribute a press release?
No. Distribution to Chinese outlets does not require a Chinese company, a Chinese bank account or an ICP licence, and your own website does not need to be hosted in China. What you do need is a Chinese-language text that meets the editorial and advertising rules, and a contactable representative. Hosting a site inside China is a separate decision that does require ICP filing.
Why was my release published on a commercial channel instead of as news?
Because the outlet decided it was advertising rather than news. Chinese advertising law requires that content which is advertising be identifiable as such, so media organisations route commercial submissions into separate channels. That is not a downgrade — the page is real, indexable and sits on the outlet's domain — but it is not the same as newsroom coverage, and any report you receive should say which one you got.