Senior Chinese official Li Changchun on Thursday urged the country's media to step up efforts to enhance their domestic and international influence.

The media should, instead of mainly reporting Chinese stories, increase international news coverage, said Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

They should also make efforts to report more original, timely and popular stories, he said during an inspection tour of the China Central Television (CCTV).

Li called on the state media to step up construction of international news channels and ensure coverage was widely received around the world.

He also asked CCTV to better use the Internet to make its voice heard.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2008)