The president of China's official Xinhua news agency is calling for the formation of a new non-governmental organization to coordinate the world's news media, serving as a sort of media United Nations.

In an opinion article in the New York-based Wall Street Journal, Xinhua President Li Congjun argues that the rules and practices governing the world's media have failed to keep up with political and economic changes. He says the human community needs new rules to replace an “unjust and irrational order” in which media from developed countries remain dominant.

The article, published Wednesday, says a new organization could facilitate global media exchanges and consultation, and might evolve into a vehicle for coordination and even arbitration. Li says media from developing countries also need more money and technical support.

Li speaks as head of one of the world's largest media companies with about 16,000 employees, maintaining 30 bureaus in China and 140 overseas. The company last month opened a showcase North American headquarters in New York's Times Squares to oversee its 10 bureaus in the United States and Canada.