Reference News (參考消息)

Reference News, also known by its Chinese name Caokao Xiaoxi, is China's leading daily newspaper with circulation of 3.25 million. Established on Nov. 7, 1931, in Jiangxi Province, the paper was initially only available to cadres and their families, to whom it supplied a collection of foreign wire and newspaper reports carefully selected and translated by Xinhua News Agency. The authorities decided to allow general subscriptions to the paper in 1985 as increased competition among news sources sent its circulation plummeting from 11 million in 1980 to 4 million in 1985. Today, the paper is sold at newsstands around the country to anyone with 0.80 yuan. An online edition is also available.