The agency already has more than 10,000 employees and 120 bureaus around the world, rivaling the reach, if not the quality, of Western news services like Reuters or Bloomberg. Xinhua has begun recruiting non-Chinese journalists from around the world to write for its news services.

Mr. Schell at the Asia Society says Beijing is serious about trying to present its news agencies as a credible alternative to global brands.

“Despite Herculean efforts, they don’t think they’re taken seriously; the agency is not on equal footing on credibility,” he said of Xinhua. “But we’re one step away from the next stage, when they pick up distressed properties in the global media world.”

Christine Haughney contributed reporting from New York.