China Central Television(CCTV) was set up in 1958 and was formerly called Beijing Television. In 1983 it established its Overseas Service, the predecessor to China's external Tv service, relaying CCTV news to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia. In October 1992, it started transmitting by satellite on CCTV4. Programs introducting China to the world reach 80 countries in Asia, Russia, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa. In November of the same year, it established China News and Entertainment in Great Britain. In 1993 it joined with 20 local television stations to establish Asian American Television. In 1994 CCTV began to offer cable news programs in Los Angles, and in 1996 it rented four transponders on three satellites to broadcast programs worldwide.

Since 1991, CCTV's foreign department has developed Chinese, English, French, and Spanish programs and established 35 TV organizations overseas. It has realized its goal of covering the globe-people in more than 100 countries can now watch Chinese porgrams in their leisure time.