BUENOS AIRES, March 26-- An Argentine newspaper Thursday successfully launched a supplement on China, showcasing the Asian giant's political and economic life, culture, society and sports.

The four-page extra appeared in the daily Tiempo Argentino, which plans to publish articles from China's Xinhua News Agency on a biweekly basis, an evidence of the increasingly close ties between Argentina and China.

"The supplement is an opportunity for us to get to know each other better, to become closer. The press plays an essential role as a showcase for us to get to know each other, to inform each other," said Gustavo Cirelli, director of the Argentine newspaper.

He added that cooperation between Argentina and China is fundamental.

"We want the supplement to be a window on China, an insight into the real China, a culture that often amazes us for being so different, so diverse, so millenary, for the significance it had and still has," he said.

Wang Jinye, director of Xinhua Latin America, said the supplement aims to offer Argentines in diverse sectors the true panorama of development in China, to portray economic, social and cultural events of global importance, and to provide useful and interesting information.

News vendors in the capital Buenos Aires' central Belgrano district appeared pleasantly surprised by the initiative.

"It's something new," said a news vendor who only gave his name as Omar. "I'd like to read about Chinese food and sports."

His colleague, Francisco, celebrated the new addition to the paper. "It serves to learn more about China, the Asian giant," he said.