Senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Li Changchun met with a Reuters delegation led by its Chairman Niall FitzGerald on Thursday, during which he called upon the news agency to report fairly about China.

 

"Reuters should be a bridge in helping the world gain a better understanding about China, and should thus report about China as it is," said Li.

 

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also praised the strong partnership between Xinhua News Agency and Reuters for the last fifty years.

 

The meeting came following a celebration in the Great Hall of the People to mark five decades of cooperation between Xinhua and Reuters on Thursday afternoon.

 

In Xinhua's formative years, Reuters was the first Western news agency to establish ties with Xinhua, with the two signing a news story exchange deal in May 1957.

 

Li stated that exchanges between international news organizations were a vital part of the new information era being ushered in across the world.

 

FitzGerald singled out China's economic and social development for praise, adding that Reuters is willing to establish a more effective partnership with Xinhua.?

 

Senior officials also in attendance were Liu Yunshan, head of the CPC Central Committee Publicity Department, Xinhua President Tian Congming and Xinhua Editor-in-Chief Nan Zhenzhong.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)