President Hu Jintao promised Friday China will continue to make government affairs public and enhance information distribution, and at the same time he called on news media to uphold social responsibilities.

Media organizations should promote the "true, correct, comprehensive and objective communication of information," Hu said in a keynote speech at the World Media Summit at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

With the media's growing influence, "it is more important than ever before that the media should establish and uphold social responsibilities," he said.

Hu pledged the Chinese government will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign news media and continue to facilitate foreign media coverage of China in accordance with the law.

He called on global media to promote world peace and development, and to contribute to building a harmonious world with lasting peace and common prosperity.

About 300 representatives from more than 170 media outlets from around the globe gathered in Beijing Friday to discuss the seismic shifts and challenges in the industry at the World Media Summit (WMS).

The World Media Summit, launched by Xinhua and eight other world media organizations, attracted leading wire services, radio and television broadcasters, newspapers and magazines, and on-line media from around the world.

Social responsibilities

Under the theme of "Cooperation, Action, Win-Win and Development," the summit has been in an effort to help global media explore ways of survival and development in time of the current economic downturn and changing landscape of the media industry, said Li Congjun, President of Xinhua News Agency.

Li said the world's media must always adhere to their social responsibility and the role in improving public welfare despite challenges from the financial crisis and information technologies.

The social responsibility topic was discussed by several other media organizations.

Director General of Russian news agency Itar-Tass Vitaly Nikitich Ignatenko said mass media needed moral guidelines to prevent from disseminating ideas of extremism, terrorism, xenophobia and racial intolerance to counteract the modern threats and challenges.