Ding Guangen, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met in Beijing January 12 with Mark Byford, visiting chief executive of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC ) World Service.

Ding, also a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said that media people both in China and Britain should have more exchanges, increase mutual understanding, develop friendship and expand cooperation so as to promote goodwill between the people of the two countries.

Byford, on his first visit to China, said his knowledge about China has increased through the current visit. He also expressed admiration for China's long-standing history, drastic changes over recent years and the progress in the audio-visual industry in China.

Byford and his party, who are in Beijing at the invitation of China Radio International, will also travel to the country's eastern metropolis Shanghai, and Changsha, the capital of central-south China's Hunan province. (Xinhua)