SHANGHAI: China Central Television (CCTV), Beijing's largest TV network, said it would launch a new global media platform on New Year's Day to help re-brand China overseas.

The new multilingual operation will have six TV channels and a new media agency, the network said on its website on Friday night. Its CCTV News channel will be rebranded the China Global Television Network, it added.

China has launched a number of "soft power" initiatives to expand its influence abroad, including other English-language media outlets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the new network to "tell China stories well," the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.