But the gauntlet is down. Right now, every thing is fair game. The US has been using NGOs and local media in its attack on Chinese investments all over the world. China should defend itself. Another thing that I think China should do, that is to acquire local media in countries that China has investment. Of course, it is better if China do it through private sector, rather than through state owned media. China should coordinate alibaba etc to acquire or set up news media in other countries.
Controling media not only can give you a channel to spread your message, but it also can give you control of the politicians. I think that is how the US is controlling the politicians in the allied nations. Any politician who dare to cross the US interest will lose access to the media, or even worse, could be paint as traitor or at least panda hugger in the US controlled media.