Mexico's Televisa television station and China Central Television (CCTV) announced on Thursday that the Mexican broadcaster would begin cable transmissions of CCTV's programs dubbed in Spanish in Mexico next week.

Chinese Ambassador to Mexico Yin Heng Min said the broadcast of CCTV programs is the first step in implementing the cooperation agreement that was signed with Televisa last month.

"The start of transmissions is a sign of the strengthening of relations between the two countries and Mexican society can now see today's China," Yin said.

Televisa Vice President Jose Baston said that although entering the Chinese market is a big challenge, Televisa's objective is to establish an excellent commercial relationship with China.

Televisa said it has signed a deal with the Chinese government to make Chinese versions of its most successful programs, including the reality show "Dancing for a Dream," and its world-famous soap operas, which are dubbed into more than 50 languages. 

Televisa has already tested the market by dubbing four soap operas into Mandarin Chinese since 2000 for broadcast in China, where they have been hits, the company said.

Baston said co-production agreements on television series in Mandarin Chinese were also expected to be signed.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2007)