BEIJING - More than 1,600 non-political newspaper and periodical publishing houses have been transferred into market-based enterprises as the country strives to reform its cultural industry, according to the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP).

The central government first issued its guideline on deepening the reform of non-political newspaper and periodical publishers in May. It set a goal of completing market-oriented reforms of all non-political newspapers and periodicals by the end of September 2012.

The restructuring is being carried out in phases and is based on the conditions of newspaper and periodical publishers, according to previous reports citing Li Dongdong, deputy head of the GAPP.

GAPP figures show that China has 11,833 newspapers and periodicals from 4,591 publishing organizations. Most of these publications focus on non-political issues.