18 July 2012 Last updated at 01:26 ET

China morning round-up: South China Sea city

Newspapers set out how Sansha city will govern disputed South China Sea islands

South China Sea issues continue to dominate newspapers across the country.

Newspapers report Hainan province has approved plans to elect a congress for Sansha, a city established in June to govern disputed islands in the South China Sea.

The new congress - equivalent to a city council - will have 60 seats, China Daily says. Guangzhou's Southern Metropolis Daily says the chamber will then choose the city's mayor and the judiciary.

Tourist cruises to Sansha are due to be launched by the end of the year, the Global Times reports, acknowledging Vietnam and the Philippines' objections to the city's establishment.

Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily News says their reporters witnessed tight military control on Woody Island in the Paracels - known as Yongxing in China - where the city government will be based.

Meanwhile, China Daily and Guangzhou's 21st Century Business Herald say the country's largest offshore oil explorer is making "good progress" in the search for a partner for its projects in the South China Sea.

Officials from China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) told reporters US companies "are displaying interest" in bidding for the joint venture, reports say.

Meanwhile, two Chinese fishing boats have been detained by a Russian patrol ship near Russia's Pacific coast, report the Global Times and Beijing News.

The Russians fired warning shots at one of the fishing boats but no one was injured, according to Chinese consulates in Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.

The boats are now at the far-eastern port of Nakhodka under investigation for fishing in Russia's exclusive economic zone, reports say.

Also on Wednesday, People's Daily and Shanghai Morning Post report Zhou Yongkang, the security chief of China's Communist Party, has urged local officials to maintain stability ahead of the upcoming party congress due later this year.

He named Beijing, Xinjiang and Tibet as "key areas" where attention must be paid to anti-subversion and anti-terrorism work, said the reports.

Premier Wen Jiabao has made a further pledge to generate jobs, Shanghai Daily says, amid a worrying economic performance as suggested by recent data.

Mr Wen said China would include job creation in assessment of local government performance, Beijing News reports.

A front-page commentary in the domestic version of People's Daily says ensuring employment is a policy that wins stability.

With the London Olympics fast approaching, People's Daily Overseas Edition runs a full page preview on what to expect from the games.

That includes competition for the top spot on the medal table between China and the US and, as the paper put it, a focus on the handsomes and beauties who shine in the sporting arena.