Xinhua News Agency celebrates 80th anniversary

BEIJING. November 7. KAZINFORM A grand gathering was held Monday morning to celebrate the 80th founding anniversary of the Xinhua News Agency.

Li Changchun, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, attended the ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing, Kazinform cites Xinhua.

The Xinhua News Agency, headquartered in the national capital Beijing, was founded on Nov. 7, 1931 in the revolutionary city of Ruijin in east China's Jiangxi Province under the name "Red China News Agency". It changed to its current name in 1937. Literally in Chinese, Xinhua means New China.

The state-run news agency now employs more than 10,000 people and operates 162 overseas bureaus worldwide.

Li Congjun, president of Xinhua, recalled the state news agency's 80-year history in his speech. He called on all staff to make greater efforts to make the agency more adapted to the trend of international media development.