A grand gathering was held Monday morning to celebrate the 80th founding anniversary of the Xinhua News Agency. Li Changchun, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, attended the ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. The Xinhua News Agency was founded on Nov. 7, 1931 as the Red China News Agency. It changed to its current name in 1937. The state-run news agency now employs more than 10,000 people and operates 162 overseas bureaus worldwide.