As vaccines start to curtail the spread of Covid-19 globally, China used its financial prowess and vaccine diplomacy to influence media narratives around the world, while also flexing its muscle against criticisms closer to home. In Hong Kong, media tycoon Jimmy Lai plead guilty to unlawful assembly in pro-democracy protests but said that he had “done no wrong in affirming the rights of people to peaceful procession”. Meanwhile on the mainland, intimidation of foreign correspondents continued as did backlash against any critique of the country’s mass detention of Uyghurs. This IFJ China bulletin provides a snapshot of media freedom challenges in the China sphere.