China waited until the last minute to announce that it would enshrine freedoms granted to foreign journalists to report in the country during the Olympic Games.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had relaxed the decades-old regulations on January 1, 2007, allowing the foreign media to conduct interviews with anyone without first obtaining government permission until last Friday.

The freedoms had been due to expire, but the Foreign Ministry made its announcement of their extension just as the clock struck the hour. It appeared that a fierce internal debate over whether, or how, to relax the reporting rules had resulted in protracted negotiations among various government departments and delayed the announcement.

Liu Jianchao, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: “This is not only a big step forward for China in opening up to the outside world, for the foreign journalists it’s also a big step.”

The decision could be among the most far-reaching liberalisations for the foreign media, kept on a tight leash for decades – at times barely allowed to travel beyond the outskirts of Beijing – if it is fully implemented.

The view of the authorities was reflected in the headline of an announcement in state media that read: “China removes restrictive rules on foreign correspondents reporting.”

The statement said the new rules would make a standard practice of the temporary Olympic rules. Those freedoms allowed journalists to interview any consenting Chinese without having first to seek government permission.

In addition, journalists were allowed to travel and to report outside the city for which they were accredited without having to apply for authorisation a minimum of 10 days in advance from the local government.

The new rules remove an item in the regulations requiring foreign reporters to get approval from the Foreign Ministry to visit regions not open and to register with the police.

However, Tibet will remain off-limits with permission required from local authorities to visit the restive Himalayan region.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China welcomed the decision. “If properly implemented, we believe this will mark a step forward in the opening of China’s media environment.”

However, the club said there remained a need for local officials to follow the new regulations. Jonathan Watts, the club president, said: “We urge the government to ensure that police and local officials respect the spirit as well as the letter of the new rules.”

China has prevented foreign media from entering many Tibetan-populated areas since anti-Chinese demonstrations swept the region in March, saying entry would be unsafe. However, access was allowed to many areas devastated by a huge earthquake in May for several weeks.

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