NEWS media around the world have lauded the Chinese government's quick reaction to the deadly earthquake that hit Sichuan Province on Monday.

Syria's state news agency and TV station have extensively covered the quake, and said the Chinese government has set disaster relief work as its top priority.

The U.S. newspaper Christian Science Monitor has also spoken highly of the Chinese government's "efficient disaster relief"work.

"They are very good at putting together a disaster relief plan rather quickly,"the report quoted Roger Musson, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, as saying.

It listed a series of measures China has taken as"vast improvements in disaster relief" such as adopting a special law on emergency management last year, specifying the government's responsibilities and setting up emergency management offices that report to the State Council.

In addition to the thousands of soldiers and police dispatched to the disaster areas, emergency medical teams were sent from major cities to the quake zone, said the report, noting their departure"displayed the speed of official response."

An article titled"Beijing at its best in response to earthquake crisis"posted on the Web site of The Australian, an Australian daily, praised China's release of information after the earthquake.

"In China, information has flowed swiftly"with details of rescue operations, missing children and damaged hospitals, it commented.

An article in The New York Times written by Andrew Jacobs said the Chinese authorities"have mounted an aggressive rescue effort, dispatching tens of thousands of troops and promptly sending Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to the disaster zone."

The article quoted a writer who praised the People's Liberation Army, saying"whenever there's a life-or-death crisis, they're the ones on the front line."

A commentary in Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao said the Chinese government's actions in dealing with the aftermath of the disaster had been swift, noting Premier Wen arrived at the quake zone hours after the quake and had been staying there to lead relief efforts day and night.

An article in the British newspaper The Times spoke highly of the Chinese government's relief work and its open attitude in releasing quake information, and expressed its belief that China was able to deal with the disaster.

A number of newspapers in Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Romania and Latvia also devoted a good deal of space to the quake and relief progress and gave positive comments on the Chinese government's post-disaster measures.

The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake has risen to nearly 19,509 people. (Xinhua)