BEIJING, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- China Daily held a memorial service at its Beijing office for assistant editor-in-chief Li Xing, who died of cerebral hemorrhage in Washington at age 54.
The highly respected journalist, who was also a columnist for the newspaper and its chief U.S. correspondent, was in the U.S. capital to cover a U.S.-China education exchange event at the time of her death Aug. 7, China's first English-language daily reported.
"Li Xing was an outstanding talent in the field of international communication and a passionate journalist, who fully devoted herself to work, until the last minute of her life. She was a tireless 'ambassador,' who bridged China and the world," China Daily editor-in-chief Zhu Ling said at the Tuesday service.
Li had been credited with spearheading the launch and expansion of the newspaper's U.S. edition.
Wang Guoqing, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office, said Li, during her three decades in journalism, helped project China's voice to the international community.
"In the past 30 years, Li Xing always worked on the frontline, and produced a lot of stories with an international perspective, realizing her goal of explaining China to the world and also establishing her as an esteemed journalist both at home and abroad," he said.
Li was born in Berlin, where her parents were working at the Chinese Embassy. She studied at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and joined China Daily in 1981.
She received a master's in journalism from Stanford University in 1986.
Li Xing is survived by her husband and a daughter.
