AOL Time Warner Inc. and the People's Republic of China have reached a breakthrough agreement in which both countries will swap programming over their respective cable systems in the US and China.

The cable carriage rights agreement, announced at the ninth annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Shanghai, would put programming from AOL Time Warner's CETV (China Entertainment Television & Broadcast Ltd.) channel in front of about 10 million viewers in China's southern region.

In return, China's CCTV-9 channel will be offered to Time Warner Cable audiences in New York, Los Angeles and Houston, marking China's deeper foray into the US broadcasting market as well as a significant step forward into mainland China for AOL Time Warner.

The programming arrangement also gives AOL Time Warner a platform on which to build next generation programming iniatives such as high-speed cable modems and the delivery of video-on-demand services.

China's CCTV 9 content, which has been in limited broadcast in some US markets, is heavy on news and public affairs. The English-language channel, part of the state's China Central Television network, will begin its US broadcasts in January of 2002, as will CETV's broadcasts.

China's state administration of radio, film and television (SARFT) called the reciprocal carriage agreement the first time a foreign TV institution has been granted cable carriage rights in mainland China and the first Sino-US agreement signed after the APEC conference.

The arrangement also caps a six-year trek for AOL Time Warner that began in Hong Kong with the goal of eventually getting a foot into mainland China's broadcast markets.

CETV began broadcasting in 1995 from Hong Kong, which is where AOL Time Warner struck a strategic relationship with CETV that included investments in its facilities and entertainment programming geared toward Chinese audiences. The relationship led to AOL Time Warner's acquisition of CETV in June of 2000.

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After the acquisition, the two companies re-launched CETV in February of this year with "infotainment" type programming for Chinese audiences.

Now, the channel reaches an estimated 80 million households overall in its broadcast footprint in Asia via AsiaSat 3S channel. The carriage rights arrangement is expected to get CETV programming in front of an estimated 10 million subscribers in mainland China.

An AOL Time Warner spokesperson said in addition to the "infotainment programs," CETV also offers some original programming such as the popular children's animated series "Power Puff Girls" and dubbed action programs.

Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc., which is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., will be the major distributor of the programming.

The commercial branch of the PRC's China International TV Corp. will be carrying the AOL Time Warner programming.