United News of Bangladesh (UNB) and Chinese news agency Xinhua have signed a news exchange agreement, aiming to deepen the mutual cooperation between China and Bangladesh through providing respective news agencies' services to each other for circulation.

UNB Chairman Amanullah Khan and Xinhua Bureau Chief in Dhaka Liu Chuntao signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides at Cosmos Centre in the city on September 27.

Speaking at the agreement-signing programme, UNB Chairman Amanullah Khan expressed the hope that the news exchange agreement would not only expand the scope and add value to UNB services to the clients but also go a long way toward propelling the bilateral relationship between the two friendly countries to a new height.

He emphasised this could be achieved through diffusion of and filtering down news and information of each agency to the common people for the common good.

Xinhua Bureau Chief Liu Chuntao reciprocated by saying that the exchange agreement would open a window of opportunity for both agencies to cash in on and pave the way for further cooperation in other fields like translation (Bangla Service).

Founded in 1931 Xinhua is the official state-run press agency of the People's Republic of China. Headquartered in Beijing, Xinhua is the biggest and most influential media organization in China, as well as one of the largest news agencies in the world.

The United News of Bangladesh (UNB) set up in 1988 with the Associated Press of America (AP), the world's largest wire service as its principal partner in news exchange has emerged as the nation's most dependable and credible source of news and information. It has a network of local correspondents and reporters covering all 64 districts, as well as receiving dispatches from its international partners and overseas correspondents. UNB caters to a wide range of subscribers and content users, which include all leading media outlets in Bangladesh and foreign licensees like Thomson Reuters, USA, the Gale Group. Inc., USA and Factiva Limited (Dow Jones), London.