China marks twenty years of reform

The president of China, Jiang Zemin, is visiting the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to mark its twentieth anniversary as a special economic zone.

During his trip, President Jiang is expected to unveil a statue to the late Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, who spearheaded the move to reform and opened up the economy to the outside world.

The visit has attracted controversy, with one newspaper the Hong Kong i-Mail reporting that Hong Kong journalists have been barred from covering President Jiang's visit.

A local official told the paper that the function venues were too small to accommodate reporters from Hong Kong. President Jiang is expected to fly to Brunei later in the day for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service