Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the government will consider applications of foreign media to post resident correspondents in more Chinese cities.
Liu said the government had received applications from foreign news organizations for resident branches or journalists in cities other than the five currently allowed.
China will be more open to foreign media and welcomes more foreign journalists to China, Liu told a forum on media cooperation among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), plus Japan, the Republic of Korean and China on Tuesday.
"We will study the applications in a comprehensive and a positive way," said Liu at the forum in Tianjin.
Liu, who is also director-general of the ministry's Information Department, said, "The conditions for foreign journalists to gather news inside China have been improving, especially since the start of the year."
He was referring to the Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by Foreign Journalists during the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period, which took effect on Jan. 1.
The regulations lifted internal travel restrictions on foreign journalists and allowed them to interview anyone so long as the interviewee gave permission.
"The regulations were warmly welcomed by the international community and foreign media, and China's opening to foreign media will continue after the Beijing Olympic Games," said Liu.
Currently, foreign media organizations are allowed to establish resident representation in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Shenyang.
The two-day forum stemmed from a proposal put forward by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the 10th ASEAN plus Three (Japan, ROK and China) Summit in the Philippines in January. The forum was attended by more than 100 journalism professionals from more than 30 mass media organizations in ASEAN and Japan, ROK and China.
There has been a sharp increase from 606 resident foreign correspondents from 315 organization based in 49 countries in China since the year's start to 705 from 351 media organizations based in 53 countries, while 2,060 foreign journalists came to China on reporting tours.
Source: Xinhua
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