The development of the media in China is a relatively recent phenomenon. The People’s Republic maintained control of information and education for many years, first through printed material and then via TV as well.

Some observers say the media system only started to grow at the end of the ’70s. Long before that, however, the people’s newspaper Rénmin Ribao (http://www.gmw.cn/) was in print in China (first edition 15th June 1948, in Pinshai, Hubei). At the time, this was only a regional publication and was moved to Peking in the same year and quickly became the official press organ of the Communist party.
Today it is the main national daily, with a circulation of over three million copies and even an English edition ( http://english.people.com.cn/). For the business world, there is the highly influential China Business Times (http://www.cbt.com.cn/), which was founded in 1989 and has a circulation of 400,000. Based in Beijing, the Cbt has 36 correspondent offices throughout the provinces to track rapid developments in the business world and the demand situation (millions of consumers).
For younger readers, on the other hand, the Communist party created a paper called Zhongguo Qingnianbao (www.cyol.net), which aims to convey basic values to China’s youth. This paper is currently struggling to keep abreast of rapid change, also in education. It has 35 offices throughout China as well as correspondents in the United States, Japan, Russia and France. Lastly, on the specialist front, the Science and Technology Daily (http://www.stdaily.com ) was founded in 1986 and quickly developed a national and international network to serve its readers’ demand for information.