Media cooperation key to trust

Tearing down barriers to mutual understanding, respect and economic links among different nations is imperative for the Asia-Pacific region in the face of common challenges in the era of climate change and artificial intelligence, senior officials, media executives and scholars said.

They made these points when addressing the Asia-Pacific Media Forum's opening ceremony on Saturday in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Shenzhen is the host city of this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, and the forum, as one of the major events of the APEC China Year, gathered more than 400 representatives from over 40 countries and regions around the world, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the development and cooperation of the Asia-Pacific region "cannot be achieved without the active participation of media outlets across the region".

"Looking ahead, China's door to the outside world will only open wider and wider. The Chinese path to modernization will offer the world more opportunities for cooperation and development, and there is great potential for exchange and cooperation among media in the Asia-Pacific," Li said in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

He underscored the need to foster a favorable public opinion environment for opening up and development in the Asia-Pacific region, building the region's consensus on talent-driven innovation and development, presenting the positive outcomes of Asia-Pacific cooperation and development, and enhancing the reach and influence of media in the Asia-Pacific region.

Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, highlighted Guangdong's pioneering role in the country's reform and opening-up, Shenzhen's achievements in advancing modernization and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's progress in connectivity building.

"We are striving to forge new competitive advantages and achieve new breakthroughs, and we are committed to advance from the forefront. This will create more opportunities for exchange and cooperation with APEC and various sectors around the world," he said.

Guangdong will further deepen reform, expand opening-up and pool efforts for innovation to build a higher ground in policy institutions, a strategic pivot for connectivity and an engine for technology empowerment between China and the rest of Asia-Pacific region, Huang said.

Dmitrii Gornostaev, deputy director-general of Russia's Rossiya Segodnya Media Group, said the agency looks forward to exploring various new models of cooperation with fellow agencies, and "this is particularly crucial in an era marked by the rapid development of AI".

"While AI presents numerous opportunities, it also poses great challenges, enabling the spread of fake news and false narratives rife with xenophobia and hatred," he said.

Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, minister of state of Pakistan's Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, urged media professionals to report on regional cooperation based on evidence and help the public better understand the opportunities ahead.

"The path to shared prosperity runs through cooperation, not coercion," she said.

With the theme of "Building a Path to Shared Prosperity for the Asia-Pacific Community: Media Consensus and Action", the forum yielded a number of tangible outcomes.

They included the launch ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Media Partnership Organizing Committee cofounded by 16 media organizations, the launch of "Gather in Shenzhen, Create a Better Asia-Pacific" Media Cooperation Initiative, and the launch of the Shenzhen Consensus of the Asia-Pacific Media Forum.

Konstantinos Oikonomou, senior vice-president of CNN, said the diversity of the Asia-Pacific region "should not be seen as an obstacle", and "it can be a source of strength".

Europe and Asia may approach certain issues from different perspectives, but "this makes engagement more important, not less", he said.

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn