Report: Facebook founder Zuckerberg reading Chinese president’s book

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks to Chinese students at Tsinghua University in October. Pic: AP.

BEIJING (AP) — The news portal of China’s top Internet agency has released a photo of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with a copy of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s book on governance at his desk while hosting an Internet official from the country.

Zuckerberg, who has long sought access to the market in China, where Facebook is blocked, is quoted by the portal as saying he purchased several copies of Xi’s book so that he and colleagues could learn about “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

China.com.cn, controlled by China’s Internet Information Office and another agency, says the photo was taken while Zuckerberg hosted Lu Wei, China’s top Internet regulator, at his office in California.

In October, Zuckerberg surprised Chinese college students in Beijing when he chatted with them for 30 minutes in Mandarin.