The Director of the Press Center for the 20th CPC National Congress Answers Journalists' Questions

The Press Center for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) officially opened on October 12 to provide services for journalists covering the Congress. The director of the Press Center has answered the questions that journalists are interested in.

Question: How many journalists from China and abroad are covering the Congress?

Answer: The upcoming 20th CPC National Congress is a congress of great significance to be convened at a crucial moment, as the whole Party and the entire nation embark on a new journey toward building a modern socialist country in all respects and advance toward the Second Centenary Goal. It is an important event in the political life of the Party and the country, drawing widespread attention both at home and from abroad. About 2,500 journalists from home and abroad have registered for covering the Congress, including around 150 journalists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and some 750 foreign journalists.

Question: What reporting activities has the Press Center arranged for the Congress?

Answer: The Press Center will organize a rich variety of activities to provide convenience to journalists covering the Congress. Journalists from home and abroad will be able to cover important events including the opening and closing ceremonies of the Congress. The Press Center will organize a press conference for the Congress, five other press conferences and five group interviews, and journalists can attend those events via video link. Two interviews with delegates at the Delegates’ Passage will also be held so that journalists can interview the delegates on site. The Press Center also organized a tour for journalists to visit the exhibition themed “Forging Ahead in the New Era” and will arrange many reporting tours on themes of high-quality economic development, financial innovation, scientific and technological innovation and ecological conservation. We will also handle in time the application for interviews by journalists from media outside the Chinese mainland and coordinate with the delegations to the Congress so that they can dispatch delegates to accept interviews.

Question: Amid the epidemic, how does the Press Center meet the needs of journalists for interviews and reports?

A：Journalists can conduct interviews in multiple ways, including on site, online and in writing. Via the distant video interview system in the Press Center, journalists can conduct interviews at the Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing with the spokespeople for the Congress, distinguished guests and delegates who attend the press conferences and group interviews in the Great Hall of the People or the Beijing Media Center Hotel. Ten video interview rooms have been set up at delegations’ hotels, and two video interview rooms have been set up at the Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing. Journalists can conduct individual interviews with delegates at the video interview rooms in the Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing.

Question: How can journalists get the event-arrangement and other relevant materials from the Press Center?

A: The Press Center has launched its website and social media accounts on WeChat, Sina Weibo and Toutiao, which all officially opened to the public early on the morning of October 10, publishing in a timely manner the information on the Congress, and notices of the Press Center on the press conferences and reporting activities. A “Media Service” section on the website of the Press Center has been set up, which offers materials of previous CPC National Congresses, as well as the news reports, related digital media products, and video materials of the 20th CPC National Congress. Registered journalists can log into their accounts to download the materials.

Question: What services does the Press Center provide for journalists?

A: The Press Center has set up a reporter workspace in the Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing, which has about 200 cubicles and is equipped with network ports and some public computers, to achieve 5G wireless network coverage. Six media workspaces have been set up to facilitate the work of the media. A reception area provides consulting and reception services for journalists from home and abroad, and the Digital Media Experience Space showcases the achievements of media convergence in the past decade. The Press Center also has a radio & television signal service room and a photo service room to respectively provide radio and television signals as well as video materials and pictures related to the 20th CPC National Congress, which can be downloaded by journalists. There is also an exhibition area of the intangible cultural heritage and cultural and creative products, displaying more than 9,160 books in eight languages and over 30 intangible cultural heritage and other cultural and creative products. In addition, areas for catering and coffee break and a infirmary have been set up in the center, respectively providing catering and medical services for journalists. The Press Center also renders accommodation and commuting services for journalists.

Question: What measures has the Press Center taken for COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control?

A: The Press Center has taken strict and precise epidemic prevention and control measures. All staff members of the Press Center and journalists should be fully vaccinated before checking in, with no abnormal body temperature. Their Health Code and nucleic acid test result would be checked when they enter the Press Center. Journalists attending reporting tours must take shuttle buses to minimize social contact. Public areas of the Press Center are equipped with anti-epidemic supplies and public facilities are regularly sterilized. Nucleic acid testing stations in the Press Center provides daily services for journalists, staff of the Center and service supporting personnel.