A member of China's top advisory body on Saturday called for the publication of a national Russian-language newspaper to help Russian-speaking people have a better understanding of China.

"With the increasing exchange between China and Russian-speaking countries, it's high time we launch an influential Russian-language newspaper like China Daily, the only national English-language newspaper in the country," said Li Jingjie at a panel discussion during the annual session of the top advisory body.

Li cited China: Economy and Partner, a Russian-language newspaper in the northeastern Heilongjiang Province, which borders Russia.

"It is a good publication, but has a limited circulation," said Li, a research follow with the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Nearly 300 million people in the world speak Russian and most of them living in the countries near China.

"The people of these countries are eager to learn about China, but there are not enough China-related publications for them," said Li.

Meanwhile, China has seen an increasing number of Russian-speaking visitors in recent years. In 2005, Li said, the number of the visitors from Russia alone reached 2.2 million.

"Now, we can see people speaking Russian not only in China's northern and western border areas, but also in big cities and scenic spots in inland provinces.

"However, they don't have access to a Russian-language newspaper with considerable clout in their language," said Li.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2007)