SHANGHAI, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The publisher of Reader's Digest on China's mainland said Tuesday the magazine's business in China would not be affected by its U.S. headquarter's financial restructuring.

    The business in China would maintain steady growth, said Shi Yongqiang, general manager of Reader's Digest (Shanghai) Advertising Co., Ltd., the only publisher of Reader's Digest in China.

    "The magazine's business in China will remain the same. The company will not change its way of treating its employees, suppliers and partners," he said.

    In April, the 87-year-old Reader's Digest, the most popular general interest magazine in the United States, published its first extended edition in China to enrich the content of the magazine with pictures and words. About 100,000 copies of the special edition were sold in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in a single month, and nearly 500,000 copies were sold in China's mainland within a month.

    Shi said the magazine in China would continue to develop the business of its online edition and create new products.

    Reader's Digest in China has nearly 30 employees. The U.S. publisher of Reader's Digest said Monday it would file for bankruptcy protection to reduce debt burden by 75 percent.