THE Shenzhen Daily, the only English-language newspaper in the southern Chinese mainland, is playing an "irreplaceable role" in serving expats and contributing to the city's drive toward cosmopolitism, Acting Mayor Wang Rong said.

In a letter to Jeffrey Gu, the paper's editor-in-chief yesterday, Wang expressed his gratitude for the abundant English information that the newspaper had provided for readers, an comprehensive channel for a newcomer like him to learn about the city.

"There are many symbols and criteria to reflect and judge an international metropolis," Wang wrote. "Having a good international language environment and media that can provide a variety of information for expatriates working and living in the city is one important factor.

"Shenzhen Daily has contributed a lot in news reporting about the city's social and economic development and achieved remarkable success in promoting the city and its major events overseas. I hope it will further play its unique and active role in this aspect."

Wang was appointed acting mayor on June 12 at the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourth Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress, following the removal of former Mayor Xu Zongheng, who is under investigation by the Party's anti-graft watchdog for suspected serious violations of discipline.

Born in 1958, Binhai County, Jiangsu Province, Wang received a doctorate from Nanjing Agricultural University in 1988. He was a visiting scholar to the Tilburg University in the Netherlands between 1991 and 1992.

Han Ximin