BEIJING, Dec. 29 -- China issued a media development report highlighting the integration of growing new media with traditional journalism on Monday.

Issued by the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA), the report, which is the first of its kind, said thanks to support by authorities and the efforts of all press institutions the overall strength of China's media has continued to increase.

The environment for journalism is more and more open and transparent, with increased media's credibility and social influence. Foreign journalists are enjoying more convenience in their work in China.

The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council Information Office provide information services to guide the work of journalism, it said.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television is responsible for administrating publication, radio and television, while the Cyberspace Administration supervises the content of information on Internet.

China has the biggest circulation of newspapers, with more than 1,915 newspapers and total printing numbers reaching 48.24 billion in 2013. Television news programs have surpassed TV dramas to become the most popular for Chinese audiences in 2013, it said.

China has two news agencies, Xinhua News Agency and China News Service. Xinhua has branches in armed forces, armed police forces, and all areas in China except Taiwan. It has more than 180 branches overseas. China News Service serves mainly overseas Chinese and has 46 branches outside China.

The report said after two decades of development, Internet-based new media has become the most vigorous and influential media in China. The country now has more than 632 million Internet users, including 527 million people who use mobile Internet. More than 80 percent of Internet users visit news sites.

From June 30 to July 6, 2014, news sites covered more than 44.74 million people on a daily basis. By the end of June, there were 1.2 billion microblog accounts in China and 275 million users.

As of the end of July, instant messaging services had more than 1 billion accounts registered, including more than 800 million on WeChat, which covers more than 200 countries and regions in the world. There were more than 5.8 million public accounts opened on the platform.

The new media has become a platform for interactions between authorities and the public, with government bodies opening 258,700 microblog and 6,000 WeChat accounts to release official information and make contact with people.

Thanks to the convenience of the Internet, Chinese people are more capable of educating themselves and expressing, joining in and supervising important topics. As of the end of June, China also had more than 1 million online forums.

The country is also advancing integration between traditional media and the new media in a bid to address the challenges of traditional media faces in the information age.

Major traditional outlets such as People's Daily, Xinhua and China Central Television, have all opened new media sectors, providing news services on Internet and mobile applications, and making customized products for different audiences.

With easier access to information, fake news, pornography and privacy leaks have become large issues facing media going forward, the report said.

China protects freedom of speech and urges people not to breach the interests and rights of the state, society and other people.

In a bid to make an safe environment for new media, China has launched a series of campaigns to crack down on online pornography, piracy and hackers, according to the report.