In a speech on Sunday to mark Journalists' Day, Li Changchun -- who is seen as the country's propaganda and ideology chief -- praised Chinese reporters for "strengthening and improving" the party's control over the flow of news.

"You have supported the party's management of the media ... and ensured that the power to lead news and propaganda has remained firmly in the hand of the party," he said in the speech carried by the leading People's Daily.

The 66-year-old Li, who is number five in China's leadership hierarchy, said media outlets should work harder to expand their reach outside China and better publicise the nation's rising political and economic clout.

"We must strengthen our exchanges and cooperation with overseas media in news broadcasts, human resources, information technology and industry development and use these platforms... to transmit China's position and voice and expand the international influence of our news and propaganda," he said.

In recent years, state-run China Central Television has expanded its operations to include channels in Russian, Arabic, Spanish and French, to go with its overseas Chinese-language broadcasts and English network.

The government has earmarked 45 billion yuan (6.5 billion dollars) to fund the expansion of groups including Xinhua, CCTV and CRI radio, according to Hong Kong media reports.

Several key newspapers have also launched English-language editions, and government agencies such as the defence ministry have created English versions of their websites.

Li urged the state media to continue to adhere to the edicts of the party and bolster its image at home.

"We must better boost the confidence of the people in the party and government," Li said.

"Building a bridge between the party and people by understanding social conditions and public views and guiding (public opinion on) hot social issues is the core task of news and propaganda work."

earlier related report
Dalai Lama draws huge crowds on visit slammed by China
Tawang, India (AFP) Nov 9, 2009 - Tens of thousands of Buddhist devotees gathered Monday to hear the Dalai Lama on his visit to a Tibetan border region that he insists is "non-political" but which China views as deeply provocative.

Some 30,000 people, many of whom had arrived days in advance, were expected to attend a mass session of religious teaching by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader at the remote Tawang monastery in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

China, which claims Arunachal as its own territory, has condemned the week-long visit and accused the Dalai Lama of seeking to stir up tensions in relations between New Delhi and Beijing.

On his arrival at Tawang on Sunday, the Dalai Lama dismissed China's complaints and rejected charges that he actively promotes anti-China unrest in his homeland.

"My visit to Tawang is non-political," the 74-year-old Nobel laureate told reporters.

"It is quite usual for China to step up campaigning against me wherever I go," he said. "It is totally baseless on the part of the Chinese communist government to say that I am encouraging a separatist movement."

Tawang -- 400 years old and the second largest Tibetan monastery in India -- holds strong memories for the Dalai Lama.

When he fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, Arunachal was his point of entry to India and he took refuge in Tawang at the start of his decades in exile.

"There are a lot of emotions involved," he said, looking back. "When I escaped from China in 1959, I was mentally and physically very weak.

"The Chinese did not pursue us in 1959, but when I reached India they started speaking against me."

It was not the Dalai Lama's first return visit to Tawang but the timing has caused Beijing to protest in a robust fashion.

Indo-Chinese tensions over their disputed Himalayan border -- the cause of a brief but bloody war in 1962 -- have risen in recent months, with reports of troop movements and minor incursions on both sides.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh toured the state last month during an election campaign, prompting warnings from Beijing about harming bilateral ties.

The presence in the disputed region of the Dalai Lama, whom China regards as a renegade Tibetan separatist, is seen as a double insult.

China had accused the Dalai Lama and his exiled "clique" of helping to organise anti-China protests that erupted in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in March last year and spread across the Tibetan plateau.

Thousands of Buddhists gave the Tibetan spiritual leader, who has lived in exile in India for 50 years, a rousing welcome on his arrival at Tawang monastery, perched in the Himalayan foothills at 3,500 metres (11,400 feet).

"It was a lifetime experience to have seen the Dalai Lama from so close," said a young monk called Sherbu on Sunday. "He waved back at us and I consider this to be a blessing for me and the people here."

The Dalai Lama's spiritual teachings are expected to last several days.

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