BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- A symposium was held in Beijing on Tuesday to mark the publication of the 12th edition of the Xinhua Dictionary, the most authoritative Chinese language dictionary.

The new edition reflects great achievements made while fully building a modern socialist country. Initially compiled in 1950, more than 600 million copies of the dictionary have been sold.

Cai Dafeng, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and chairman of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, attended the symposium.