Tian Congming, President of the Xinhua News Agency, met Tuesday with the European Union's Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson in London.

The two sides held a friendly and candid exchange of views on the regulation of news and information distribution by foreign news agencies in China.

The new regulation, named "Measures for Administering the Release of News and Information in China by Foreign News Agencies, " was released on September 10, 2006, with immediate effect.

In response to Mandelson's view that the regulation has breached World Trade Organization rules and hampered foreign news agencies' business activities in China, Tian said, "The regulation is in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, and it is in no breach of either WTO rules or China's WTO commitments."

Tian said there have been some differences in opinion following the announcement of the regulation last September, however, common understanding has been increasingly reached through communication and negotiation.

Tian pointed out that the business volume of foreign news agencies in China has grown significantly since the implementation of the regulation, and there has been no single case that proves foreign news agencies' commercial activities in China have been hampered by the regulation.

The regulation will continue to be implemented, Tian said.

Mandelson said he was pleased to have met Tian in London and he hoped to resolve his concerns with Xinhua in an amicable way, adding that he is willing to continue the exchange on the regulation with Tian in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua