A member of China's top advisory body on Saturday called for the
publication of a national Russian-language newspaper to help
Russian-speaking people have a better understanding of China.
"With the increasing exchange between China and Russian-speaking
countries, it's high time we launch an influential Russian-language
newspaper like China Daily, the only national
English-language newspaper in the country," said Li Jingjie at a
panel discussion during the annual session of the top advisory
body.
Li cited China: Economy and Partner, a Russian-language
newspaper in the northeastern Heilongjiang Province, which borders
Russia.
"It is a good publication, but has a limited circulation," said
Li, a research follow with the Institute of Russian, East European
and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences.
Nearly 300 million people in the world speak Russian and most of
them living in the countries near China.
"The people of these countries are eager to learn about China,
but there are not enough China-related publications for them," said
Li.
Meanwhile, China has seen an increasing number of
Russian-speaking visitors in recent years. In 2005, Li said, the
number of the visitors from Russia alone reached 2.2 million.
"Now, we can see people speaking Russian not only in China's
northern and western border areas, but also in big cities and
scenic spots in inland provinces.
"However, they don't have access to a Russian-language newspaper
with considerable clout in their language," said Li.
(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2007)