Nepal, China expand media cooperation

Sushil Koirala (L), general manager of Gorkhapatra Corporation, shakes hands with Zhou Shengping, bureau chief of Xinhua Kathmandu (R) after signing an agreement of news service in Kathmandu, Nepal, Jan 14, 2014. (Xinhua/ Pratap Thapa)

Xinhua News Agency and Gorkhapatra Corporation of Nepal on Tuesday signed an agreement of news service, which allows the latter to receive directly and release freely news stories and photos by Xinhua, China's official news agency.

General manager of Gorkhapatra Corporation, Sushil Koirala, who executed the cooperative agreement together with Zhou Shengping, bureau chief of Xinhua Kathmandu, said the agreement makes the relationship between the two organizations even stronger.

"From today I believe that the future will see our collaboration more fruitful," he said.

As the largest state-owned print media group in Nepal, Gorkhapatra Corporation owns many newspapers and magazines in the country. Among them, Nepali Gorkhapatra is the oldest newspaper of Nepal which published its first issue on May 6, 1901; The Rising Nepal is one of the four major English dailies in the Himalayan nation.

"In the last 10 years, we were depending on AP and AFP to get news about China," Ajay Rana, editor in chief of The Rising Nepal said. "Now we can publish a true picture of China from Xinhua. This will give our readers true facts about China."

The deal is a part of China's continuous effort to expand its influence on public opinion in its close southern neighbor Nepal. The newly past 2013 witnessed booming exchange and cooperation between China and Nepal in the field of communication.

In April, 2013, Nepal Television (NTV), the only TV owned by Nepal's government, signed an agreement with China's CCTV to air programs of the biggest television network in China.

In September of last year, Cai Mingzhao, head of the State Council Information Office of China, visited Nepal and responded positively to Nepal's request to establish a legal bilateral instrument in the communication sector.

During his four-day official visit, Cai told Xinhua that a Memorandum of Understanding on media cooperation between the two countries is likely to be signed in Beijing in 2014.

In the later half of 2013, China News Service opened its Nepal branch in the capital Kathmandu.

To help Nepalese people understand China better, from July, 2013, Xinhua also publishes the Nepal edition of Asia Pacific Daily monthly, which is jointly operated by Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau and Kathmandu Bureau of Xinhua.

According to the newest statistics published by Nepal's Ministry of Information and Communication on Monday, there are more than 300 private radios and over 20 televisions in operation in the country. Another statistic shows that about 6,000 print media hit the newsstand in Nepal.