The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) issued an administrative regulation Tuesday on cooperation between domestic TV and radio stations and foreign companies, according to yesterday's Beijing Morning Post.

It said they should not rent channels to foreign companies, and that local stations must not cooperate with them on regular and live programs.

All kinds of cooperation between TV and radio stations and foreign companies have to be approved by the administration's provincial branches.

The SARFT issued a similar notice on March 4, prescribing that foreign firms may set up joint ventures in program production with domestic TV and radio stations, but are not allowed to be directly involved in their operations.

The Beijing Morning Post article said there had been progress in cooperation between Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and a Chinese Communist Youth League film and television production center in the operation of Qinghai Satellite TV Station in west China since January.

A leading official from the station said the work had been cancelled, and they had not involved cooperation on production or advertising operations.

(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, July 14, 2005)