ABC launches Chinese information site

The Australian Broadcasting Corp launched what is claimed to be the first dedicated Chinese-language website and mobile information platform by a mainstream Western media company.

Australiaplus.cn was launched in Shanghai on Thursday, and has been registered with China's Internet regulator.

Focused on providing wider information services for both Chinese living in Australia and in China rather than straight news, including content about overseas study, travel, investment and other business and cultural subjects, its creators hope the new site will help increase cultural and commercial links between China and Australia.

Mark Scott, ABC's managing director, said funding for the site comes from various sources, but he did not disclose any revenue and profit targets.

He said the site is expected to generate income from advertisement and information services and also from partnerships on cultural and commercial events.

ABC International's CEO Lynley Marshall said: "We want the website to be a gateway for Chinese who wish to study, travel and do business in Australia."

Recent figures show that China has become Australia's biggest source of immigrants and overseas students, with Mandarin becoming the second most-spoken language in Australia after English.

ABC has already established partnerships with several media organizations in China, including Shanghai Media Group.

The new website, which will be updated daily, has embedded some of the country's best-known video-sharing, audio-sharing and social network tools and will be fully interactive with social media sites, said Scott.

An increasing number of foreign news services have been providing Chinese-language content for audiences in China. "This is good for audiences and Internet users in the country because it means a wider choice of content," he said.

On Wednesday, the 171-year-old Economist Group also launched its first bilingual Chinese-English platform, The Economist Global Business Review, which will feature 30 articles a month on business, finance and technology translated from its main site.

China had 649 million Internet users by the end of 2014, and 80 percent of them use mobile devices to access the Web, according to data from the China Internet Network Information Center.

"As Chinese people travel more around the world, to study or do business, or on holiday, they are becoming more connected," said Zhu Leting, a 24-year-old Internet user in Shanghai.