Excerpt from report by Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg website
Bishkek, 2 November: China Radio International (CRI) intends to launch broadcasts in Kyrgyz and in other state languages of Central Asian countries, the deputy director of the CRI, Xia Jixuan, has said at a meeting with journalists from Central Asian countries.
He said that the CRI was serving as a tool for strengthening friendly relations and trust between China and other countries and for establishing peace in the world.
[Passage omitted: China Radio International broadcasts in 43 languages]
“The CRI is interested in strengthening cooperation between China and the countries of Central Asia,” Xia Jixuan said. “We have so far had no other languages, except for Russian, to broadcast to the post-Soviet space,” he said.
The CRI said that China Radio International would possibly be able to launch broadcasts in Kyrgyz and other state languages of Central Asian countries within a few years.
“We are interested in exchanging broadcasts on culture, history and society in the states of Central Asia in order for Chinese and other countries’ listeners to be able to learn more about one another,” the deputy director of China Radio International said.
(Source: 24.kg website, Bishkek, in Russian 0623 gmt 2 Nov 07 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)