Radio broadcasting holds great significance in China, with one of the longest history and tradition of being on air. Today radio digitisation has also become an urgent necessity.

Radio is very important for reaching decision-makers and affluent individuals, as the car radio is very often their most useful commuter companion. 

Radio also plays a key role in disseminating important safety messages and news updates during emergencies, such as earthquakes, providing real-time information to listeners when it matters the most. It is here that the DRM Emergency Warning Functionality or EWF also tipped the balance in favour of DRM. China adopted as a national standard for radio the Digital Radio Mondiale digital broadcasting system in the medium and shortwave bands last July. As China has around 30 domestic car manufacturers, a policy mandating DRM AM in cars was considered right from the start of the digitisation process. The strategic goal of the Chinese in digitising with DRM is enhancing AM radio with digital quality, which would provide emergency broadcasting, building an SFN network for domestic coverage. DRM is also seen as supporting the overall modernization of China’s broadcast infrastructure.