The report, titled “For a Better World — Looking at the Past Decade of Jointly Pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative from a Human Rights Perspective,” was released by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and Xinhua’s think tank New China Research.
The report says the cooperative construction of the BRI helps meet partner countries residents’ basic needs, and advocates for broader cooperation in various fields. It encourages companies to fulfill their social responsibilities actively, assisting local communities in improving living conditions and realizing their rights to development in areas such as education, culture, and the environment.
It says infrastructure development is a key focus of Belt and Road cooperation, with many collaborative projects providing various facilities and conveniences such as transportation, communication, and housing for local populations.
Enjoying cultural achievements and participating in cultural activities are important manifestations of cultural rights, the report said. Many BRI projects are being implemented to construct public cultural infrastructure, preserve local cultural heritage, enrich cultural resources, and help people in partner countries better realize cultural rights.
The summit attracted more than 450 representatives from nearly 200 institutions, including media outlets, think tanks and international organizations, from over 100 countries and regions.
With the theme of “Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development,” the attendees conducted extensive and in-depth discussions on four topics, namely, “Bolstering Confidence: Media’s Role in Promoting Human Development and Security,” “Embracing Changes: Media’s Response to New Technological Opportunities and Challenges,” “Pioneering Innovation: Media’s New Markets in the Digital Age,” and “Seeking Growth: Media’s Worldwide Cooperation for a Better Future,” to explore ways for the media industry to address global challenges, the Joint Statement for the 5th World Media Summit said.
Noting that the world today is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, with uncertainties and unforeseen factors on the rise, the participants called on global media to build a bridge of communication to answer questions posed by the world, by the times and by history.
They expressed the hope that global media will pay more attention to the pressing demands of developing countries in areas such as poverty reduction, food security, financing for development, and industrialization, and help resolve imbalances and inadequacies in development.
Amid the rapid development of new technologies in the information age, global media should adhere to journalistic ethics and meet professional standards while actively carrying out innovation, and make rational use of emerging technologies, the document said.
We should disseminate factual, objective, comprehensive and unbiased news to our audience, resist misinformation, and oppose rumors and prejudices to uphold the authority and credibility of the media, it said.
The participants also called on global media organizations to strengthen cooperation, promote the common development of the world media industry, and facilitate mutual understanding and communication among countries and peoples with different historical backgrounds, cultural traditions and development status, so as to deliver greater stability and positive energy to a volatile world.
It is believed that the summit will encourage global media to build consensus, work together for high-quality development, and pool powerful media strength for building a community with a shared future for humanity and a better world, the document said.
World Media Summit is an important global platform for high-level media exchanges and cooperation. Co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency and the provincial government of Guangdong, events at the main venue of the summit run from Dec. 2 to 6.
Themed “Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development,” the 5th WMS has gathered over 450 participants from 101 countries and regions, including representatives of 197 mainstream media outlets, think tanks, government agencies and diplomatic missions to China, and UN agencies and international organizations.
The event, co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency and the provincial governments of Guangdong and Yunnan, runs from Dec. 2 to 8 in the cities of Guangzhou and Kunming.
Fu welcomed Kondrashov to lead a TASS delegation to attend the fifth World Media Summit in China. He said that TASS is an important partner of Xinhua News Agency and the two news organizations share broad space for cooperation.
He hoped that the two sides will further tap the cooperation potential, keep closer personnel exchanges, push for new achievements in practical cooperation, and jointly play a positive role in promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia.
Fu said that Xinhua looks forward to continually strengthening cooperation with TASS under multilateral mechanisms and frameworks including the BRICS Media Forum, the Belt and Road Economic Information Partnership and the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies.
Kondrashov said that Xinhua has great influence in the world and its various businesses have developed rapidly in recent years. TASS is willing to strengthen practical cooperation with Xinhua and promote exchanges and mutual learning between the two agencies.
“We are looking forward to exchanging experience with media from different countries at the upcoming summit, particularly with regard to the coverage of sustainable development, socio-economic and humanitarian issues,” Tolstikova told Xinhua in a recent interview ahead of the fifth World Media Summit, which will be held in China’s southern cities of Guangzhou and Kunming in December.
The summit “provides a platform that encourages the exchange of experience between the world’s media, that helps to identify the main trends and key challenges in the media industry and determine how to jointly respond to these,” she said.
It will present a valuable occasion not just to showcase one’s resources and work to colleagues from across the world, but also an opportunity to forge new partnerships, conduct practical negotiations and foster lasting connections for the future, she added.
Highlighting media’s increasingly significant role in building relationships between countries and fostering dialogue between states, the CEO of TV BRICS said, “It is the work of the media that allows us to ‘build bridges’ between countries and entire civilizations, to introduce them to each other, to unite and bring them together.”
“The media coverage of certain problems allows us to quite literally highlight some of the most important topics amidst the endless flow of information,” she said.
Noting that there has been a noticeable increase in coordination between major media outlets of the BRICS members, she said, “BRICS countries have worked to strengthen media cooperation in recent years.”
“We are seeing an intensification of information exchange, we can see how the media of BRICS countries are jointly working to cover the association’s common agenda, and it is the bilateral contacts between the media of the BRICS countries that have been the most active,” Tolstikova said.
The meeting among leaders of Xinhua News Agency, Reuters, The Associated Press (AP), and Agence France-Presse (AFP) was the first of its kind. Fu Hua, president of Xinhua, hosted the event in downtown Beijing.
“The global media industry is undergoing a significant transformation,” Fu said, citing factors such as technological innovation that is reshaping the industry, and the spread of fake news that is challenging journalistic ethics.
He proposed establishing a high-level dialogue and cooperation mechanism of the four within the framework of the World Media Summit (WMS).
“By engaging in such dialogues, we can inspire one another and promote mutual development,” Fu said.
Reuters Head of Agency Sue Brooks said the content produced by the four reaches around 75 percent of the global population.
“Therefore, it is very important that the information we gather and the journalism that we produce tells the world the truth and is trusted by them,” she said.
The executives agreed that international news agencies should work together and stay committed to providing users with objective, fair and accurate information.
“We view collaboration with fellow news agencies as paramount,” said AP Vice President YK Chan.
“Collaboration allows us to tell important stories, keep our journalists safe and address more pressing challenges facing our industry,” he said.
The topics discussed at Friday’s meeting ranged from coping with the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and combating fake news, to improving ways to better protect journalists covering wars and natural disasters.
Fu suggested mutual humanitarian assistance during news reporting in conflict zones, natural disasters and other dangerous areas, and proposed building on existing text and photo service cooperation to expand collaboration, particularly in video content commercial distribution.
On meeting the challenges brought by technological advancement, media leaders concurred that while the application of the technologies can aid in news collection and dissemination, it should not replace the media industry itself, nor should it compromise news ethics and authenticity.
Michael Mainville, member of the AFP Executive Committee and AFP Asia-Pacific regional director, said while AI can help media outlets boost productivity, “we believe it is also very important to discuss the principles of how we will use artificial intelligence.”
Fu suggested that the four global wire services deepen exchanges and communication while conducting operational training in international media development trends, cutting-edge media technology applications, and combating fake news through information verification.
He said that in recent years, Xinhua, Reuters, the AP and AFP have proactively adapted, innovated, and utilized technological achievements, standing at the forefront of media transformation.
Friday’s meeting took place before the fifth WMS to be held in the cities of Guangzhou and Kunming.
Themed “Boosting global confidence, promoting media development,” the fifth WMS, which runs from Dec. 2 to 8, gathers over 450 participants from 101 countries and regions, including representatives of 197 mainstream media outlets, think tanks, government agencies, diplomatic missions to China, as well as UN agencies and international organizations.
As important media organizations in China and Japan, Xinhua News Agency and Kyodo News have witnessed and participated in the development of bilateral relations. The cooperation between Xinhua News Agency and Kyodo News is solid and fruitful, Fu said.
Fu added that Xinhua News Agency is willing to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Kyodo News to jointly promote people-to-people exchanges and contribute to the steady and long-term development of China-Japan relations.
Noting that the two organizations are both initiators of the World Media Summit, Fu welcomed Mizutani to attend the fifth edition of this summit in China and thanked Kyodo News for its strong support for the development of the summit mechanism.
Expressing gratitude for the invitation to attend the fifth edition of the summit, Mizutani said he expects the two media organizations to further their already solid partnership and enhance personnel exchanges.
Fu welcomed Brooks to attend the Fifth World Media Summit in China, saying that Reuters was the first major western news agency to establish a partnership with Xinhua.
Since the signing of the news cooperation agreement in 1957, the two sides have achieved fruitful cooperation on news exchange and photo agency, Fu said.
Noting that the two organizations are both initiators of the World Media Summit and members of the summit’s presidium, Fu said the two sides should strengthen exchanges and mutual learning and make joint efforts to enhance the communication, guidance, influence and credibility of news reports in the era of mobile Internet.
Brooks said Reuters values friendly relations with Xinhua and is willing to deepen exchanges with Xinhua in areas such as media application of new technologies and strengthen cooperation under the framework of the World Media Summit.
Here is some essential information worth knowing about the World Media Summit.
{{WHAT IS WORLD MEDIA SUMMIT?}}
The notion of holding the summit was first proposed by Xinhua in 2008 with the aim of facilitating exchanges among leading media groups worldwide on the challenges posed by the emergence of the “New Media” and enhancing their win-win cooperation.
Co-initiated by a collection of media organizations with global influence — including Xinhua News Agency, the Associated Press, Reuters, TASS Russian News Agency, the first summit, organized by Xinhua, was held in Beijing in 2009.
With Moscow hosting the second in 2012, followed by the third in Doha, Qatar, in 2016, and Beijing in 2021 for the fourth summit via video link, the World Media Summit has demonstrated its commitment to inclusivity and a diverse representation of global media perspectives.
From top executives and editors-in-chief to seasoned journalists and media scholars, as well as press officials, the summit seeks to foster dialogue, share insights and collectively address the multifaceted challenges confronting contemporary media.
{{WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BY THE SUMMIT?}}
Since its inception, the summit has achieved remarkable progress in its effort to promote international people-to-people exchanges as well as exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
A series of documents have been issued to strengthen media connections and promote cooperation, including the World Media Summit Joint Statement, the World Media Summit Convention on the Protection of Intellectual Property Related to Media Results, the World Media Summit Doha Statement, the Fourth World Media Summit Presidium Meeting Shanghai Consensus, and the joint statement of the 4th World Media Summit.
Multiple activities have been successfully held to enhance practical cooperation.
For instance, the World Media Summit Global Awards for Excellence were organized in 2014 and 2021. Training programs for media professionals from Asia, Africa and Latin America were set up, and several large-scale international public welfare projects were initiated, like the Global News Day for Children with a global live broadcast around the clock, the Zoom-in on Poverty Global Photo Contest, as well as media campaigns focused on Africa.
Through establishing the presidium, the supreme decision-making body of the summit, and the Secretariat as part of the daily administrative structure, the summit has made significant strides in institutional building, which ensures the long-term stability and development of the summit.
{{KEY FACTS OF THE FIFTH WORLD MEDIA SUMMIT}}
The fifth summit will be hosted by Xinhua on Dec. 2-8, in China’s Guangzhou city of Guangdong Province and Kunming city of Yunnan Province.
Over 450 attendees from 101 countries and regions — representatives from nearly 200 mainstream media outlets, think tanks and government agencies, as well as international organizations — will participate in the event this year in the hope of reaching practical cooperation.
Themed “Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development,” the summit will address topics including bolstering media confidence, coping with opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies, exploring new markets in the digital age, and striving for a shared future in global media cooperation.
