Per 《
新华词典》: founded 1948 in Pingshan County (
平山县), Hebei, by merging the Jin-Cha-Ji and Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu editions, and became the CCP Central Committee's official organ in August 1949. As China's most authoritative paper, its front-page editorials and
社论 ('editorials') are read worldwide as signals of Beijing's policy direction.
