Xinhua President delivers speech at press conference launching new version of Xinhuanet

Xinhua News Agency President delivers speech at press conference launching new version of Xinhuanet

(June 15, 2015)

by Cai Mingzhao

Distinguished guests, comrades and friends:

Good afternoon!

Welcome to Xinhua News Agency to attend the press conference launching the new version of Xinhuanet, our online news service.

This hall has special meaning for Xinhuanet, as it was where Xinhua News Agency held an opening ceremony to launch the website 18 years ago. Since then, users have been able to read news and information from Xinhua around the clock by surfing Xinhuanet.

After 18 years of rapid development, Xinhuanet has become the most influential news website in China, and a key platform for releasing news.

Today, we are here to witness the start of a new journey with a brand-new version of the site.

The concept of this version is “With us, you are closer to the news”. Browsing the site, users will experience a visual feast in a column on the right side of the homepage. Composed of photos, video, audio and other news formats, the “All-media player” will tell major news stories in a multimedia form.

Xinhuanet will consolidate its leading position in exclusively releasing major news. And it is committed to providing users with the most authoritative and the most timely service. The new version has a column called “Xinhua In-depth”, focusing on quality Xinhua content in a multimedia form. At the same time, this version features many modern means of news production and processing, highlighting 3D news, infographics and interactive timelines — advanced technology will be integrated with quality content to further expand Xinhuanet’s influence.

Two special columns “Xinhua Internet TV” and “Xinhua Radio” provide users with more direct channels for audio and video content. Via Xinhuanet, Xinhua’s CNC television news programs that mainly target international viewers will reach users more effectively. In addition, “Xinhua Radio Station”, which has made many splendid historic achievements, will be renewed in the Internet era.

Taking this as an opportunity, a synchronous launch of a new version of Mobile Xinhuanet has greeted Internet users. With techniques such as an infinite scrolling function and automatic display adaptation, Xinhuanet goes from desktop to fingertips. Through smartphones and other mobile devices, Internet users can easily check out all Xinhuanet’s webpages, obtain content by scanning QR codes, as well as share content in their social media platforms.

Well-designed webpages demonstrate the characteristics of a quality website in terms of visuals and interactivity. During the design of the homepage, for instance, 27 drafts and about 170 trial templates were made. Compared to the previous version, the new version has reduced the volume of page by 82 percent but has resulted in a 35-percent rise in responsiveness.

It is worth mentioning that Xinhuanet has explored creative ways of news and information gathering by using drones. This is becoming a highlight in Xinhuanet reports.

The launch of the new version of Xinhuanet is a crucial step in promoting integration of traditional and new media. Based on Xinhua News Agency’ s worldwide news and information gathering network, Xinhuanet will continue to innovate in the concept, form and pattern of news transmission, striving to make Xinhuanet a world-class and internationally influential news website and building an online news agency that plays a dominant role in the sphere of new media.

Just one week ago, we held a press conference here to launch the new version of Xinhua News Agency’ s Chinese news app. Xinhuanet and the Xinhua news app have offered tens of millions of Internet users “windows” into Xinhua News Agency. They are the two wheels of Xinhua in advancing the integration between traditional and new media. The new versions of the two platforms represented a key step Xinhua has taken toward media integration.

One becomes an adult at 18 years old, and Xinhuanet has also made a new start at the age of 18. I believe Xinhuanet, as a leading Chinese news website, will attain greater achievements in the future.

Thank you!