Russia's TASS news agency launches Chinese-language service

Russia's state news agency TASS launched its Chinese-language service on Tuesday.

From 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) to 9:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) Moscow time on each work day, the service will provide more than 90 stories, including hard news, exclusives and commentaries, TASS said in a statement.

The service will focus on Russia's internal and foreign affairs, the situation in member countries of the Commonwealth of the Independent States, business news, science and technology, Russia-China cooperation, and relations between Russia and foreign countries, among others, it added.

TASS chose to launch the service, a "long awaited major event," on the Spring Festival and presented it as a "nice gift" for Chinese audiences, the agency's Director General Sergei Mikhailov said.

Russia and China are strategic partners and are actively developing cooperation in various fields, including information, he noted.

TASS pays close attention to reporting events regarding bilateral relations and cooperation, which will be seen in the Chinese-language service, Mikhailov said.