Foreign media interest in China growing

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday the number of foreign news organizations with journalists in China reached 374 last year.

Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said foreign media interest in China has increased to the point that foreign news media had more than 700 journalists operating inside the Asian country's borders by the end of 2007, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The head of the ministry's information department announced the media figures Friday during a reception in Beijing. Liu said the increased media presence has been focusing on China's overall development and changes.

Liu said that by sharing information with the rest of the world, those journalists and media groups had helped to increase global understanding of Chinese society.

The Chinese official told Xinhua he hoped international media coverage would continue in the future to help China foster understanding and friendship with other countries.