Foreign newspapers have been given the green light to print in China but they will not be allowed to circulate on the domestic market, state press reported Saturday. "Foreign newspapers can be printed in China, but all should be exported," Zhu Weifeng, an official with the State Press and Publication Administration (SPPA) told the China Business Weekly.
This "means they are made for export for an international market, so not one copy should be left to enter the Chinese market the circulation of overseas newspapers will remain forbidden in China, in the near future."
Recent reports in the international press were wrong in considering that the go-ahead to print foreign newspapers in China was also a green light for the papers to begin circulation within the country, the paper said.
It said printing foreign newspapers in China and circulating them inside the country remained two distinct concepts, with the former viewed as a processing industry.
China retains draconian regulations on its domestic media, which is strictly controlled by the propaganda department of the ruling Communist Party.
The circulation of foreign newspapers in China is largely limited to international hotels and airports, while some international magazines have been able to publish and circulate Chinese-language publications after establishing joint ventures with Chinese partners.
Private subscriptions to foreign publications are also only allowed in selected cases, mainly to foreign readers living in China and to educational and academic institutes.