Ambassador Liu in Discussion with Editors of the Guardian

On September 1, 2010, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming visited the Guardian and met with Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger, Deputy Editor Ian Katz, Senior Columnist Simon Tisdale, Deputy Editor Charlie English, Foreign Editor Julian Coman and Deputy International News Editor David Munk.

Editor-in-Chief Rusbridger welcomed Ambassador Liu’s visit to the Guardian and said that with the rapid development of China, the rest of the world is increasingly interested in this country. As an international newspaper with a global horizon, the Guardian pays great attention to news about China and is committed to reporting the development and changes in different aspects of the country, receiving positive response from the audience. The Guardian is ready to have closer communication and cooperation with the Chinese side to constantly expand coverage of China and further strengthen and improve the China-related reports.

Ambassador Liu commended the Guardian’s expanding coverage and more objective and in-depth reports about China in recent years and said that he keenly felt the growing “China fever” in the UK through the extensive contact with the people of all communities in the country since his arrival. Frankly, however, the West still lacks a comprehensive and objective understanding of China, and the distorted and inaccurate reports by some Western media from time to time make it even harder for the public in the West to have an accurate knowledge of China. Currently, there is a heated discussion in the rest of the world about China taking the place of Japan to become the world's second largest economy. But it is rarely mentioned that China's per capita GDP ranks behind more than 100 other countries in the world. Measured by the UN poverty threshold of 1 U.S. dollar per person per day, China still has a poor population of 150 million. The development in the eastern and western part of China is far from being balanced. I used to work in Gansu for two years. It is one of China's poorest provinces, with a per capita GDP of only 1,280 U.S. dollars, just one-third of the national average. This is China’s basic national condition, which determines that it will remain a major task for the Chinese government to develop economy and improve people's living conditions in a long time to come.

Ambassador Liu said that China as a developing country is always engaging in international affairs in a responsible manner and is playing an active and constructive role in major global and regional hotspot issues such as responding to climate change and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. The media is an important platform for the rest of the world to know more about China. The Ambassador hoped that the Guardian would continue its commitment to a comprehensive and objective coverage of China and China's international role, and present to the readers a real China.

Ambassador Liu also answered questions on China's internet development and management, climate change, the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea issue, China-US relations, etc.

Ambassador Liu talking with Editor-in-Chief Rusbridger

Founded in 1821, the Guardian is collectively owned by SCOTT TRUST. The newspaper was formerly known as the “Manchester Guardian” and was renamed the “Guardian” in1959. It has a daily circulation of 286,000 copies. In 1999, the Guardian launched its online edition, which becomes the world’s second most visited website in English with nearly 37 million readers.