Fujian province held a launch ceremony for its first official English-language website, in Fuzhou, on Oct 15, with the aim of offering more online services for the expatriate community in Fujian – and foreign nationals who are thinking of moving to the province.

Zhang Xingbo, China Daily Website CEO, said at the ceremony that the new website aims to establish a platform for international readers, and the China Daily website will cooperate with the new website so as to contribute to international exchanges and the province’s development.

Lu Chengsheng, Executive Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Provincial Committee, said that Fujian’s English-language website will help promote Fujian around the world and create a better image for the province.

The new website will aim to offer foreign nationals information about Fujian’s politics, economy, culture and society. It will include news stories, videos and audio, and encourage members of the public to join in online discussions. In addition, the public will also be able to access the China Daily website’s English-language forum, “China Forum”, which benefits from contributions of China Daily staff in China and abroad.

The ceremony was hosted by China Daily, the Fujian Provincial Publicity Department and Fujian Provincial Website Department. Qu Yingpu, China Daily Deputy Editor-in-chief, and Fujian officials, attended the ceremony.

China Daily is the country's top English-language newspaper. In three decades, it has evolved into a modern, international multimedia group supported by two newspaper chains, and published in three languages, with nine sub-websites and three mobile media platforms. China Daily is the country’s only newspaper of its kind to enter Western mainstream society, and it acts as an important window to enable China to understand the world - and also to be understood by the world. The newspaper boasts a circulation of more than 350,000 worldwide, and two-thirds of its readers are government officials, members of think tanks and decision-makers of multinational corporations.

Leaders co-launch the crystal ball

Lu Chengsheng,vice minister of the Fujian Provincial Publicity Department, makes a speech on the ceremony

Zhang Xingbo, China Daily Website CEO, makes a speech on the ceremony