Postimees reported the ISS highlighted in its yearbook, released at the start of the week, an October trip to China involving Estonian media and business figures, at the invitation of a foreign relations firm in Jiangsu province.

Attendees included regional daily Harju Elu journalist Askur Alas, Russian-language paper MK Estonia employee Galina Streltsova, and owners of the creative agency Sweep, Oliver Lomp and Siim Nikopensius, Postimees reported.

Alas confirmed to Postimees Harju Elu's editor-in-chief received an invitation via the Chinese Embassy in Estonia, adding that nothing was demanded in return.
"Of our own volition, we published one article four months later, in connection with the start of the Chinese New Year," Alas told Postimees. Streltsova declined to comment.

The 2025 annual report from the ISS/Kapo stated China last year expanded its influence activities in Estonia, offering a "curated and polished 'China experience'" under the pretext of cultural cooperation.

This includes cultural outreach through the embassy, often by organizing events with local governments, alongside meetings with local political and business elites, and paying local media and PR firms to broker these links. LinkedIn is also used as a method of contact. The activities mostly focus on science, tech and security, the ISS said, and Chinese intelligence services attempt to lure influential individuals by inviting them to China and the region.

The efforts also attempt to deflect attention from negative press China has been getting over human rights abuses, unfair economic practices, and growing support for Russia in the war against Ukraine, the ISS said.

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