The National Basketball Association is slated to attend the 2021 China International Consumer Products Expo – an event sponsored by the Chinese Communist Party with guidelines stipulating attendees may not “undermine the pride and interests of the People’s Republic of China.”

The upcoming event, hosted in the city of Haikou, lists the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Commerce and Hainan provincial government as its “hosts.” The conference’s organizers – Trade Development Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Developm – are also Chinese Communist Party-run entities. The conference, which saw Chinese state-run media outlets boast about National Basketball Association (NBA) attendance, has also promoted Chinese State Council praise for the event in its 2021 Government Work Report.

Concerning internet access, the event’s exhibitor manual reveals that “the organizer has the right to monitor the use of the network by technical means” and forbids attendees from using the internet to “undermine” Chinese Communist Party “pride” and “social morality”:

Party concerned shall abide by the laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China on cybersecurity, public order and social morality, and shall not endanger cybersecurity; shall not use the network to engage in activities that undermine the national security, pride and interests of the People’s Republic of China, incite others to subvert the state power of the People’s Republic of China, overthrow the socialist system, or incite others to undermine the national unity of the People’s Republic of China

Conference documents also reveal that participating foreign media outlets must be submitted to the “Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China for review” and that the Chinese Communist Party’s Provincial Foreign Affairs Office and the Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League are overseeing volunteer registration.