Distinguished guests and friends, ladies and gentlemen, 

Good morning. Welcome to Sanya, and to the CGTN Global Media Summit and the Seventh Global Video Media Forum. This is the first global event hosted by CGTN since its launch on December 31 last year. “A Shared Future” is the theme of this summit, and it is also our commitment and desire at CGTN. We look forward to making more friends at this event, and to expanding our exchange and cooperation with you. And we hope our colleagues from around the world will take this opportunity to contribute their opinions and ideas on driving the future development of the media industry. 

It’s an honor for me to share with you some of CGTN’s own experience and thinking.

We are living in an era of unprecedented change, development and integration. The media industry, too, is undergoing a profound reconfiguration. In this new climate, we need to explore new avenues for accelerating and deepening the integrated development of traditional and digital media. Of pressing importance is the need to create an innovative mode of communication by absorbing new technologies and new applications. This is now the consensus among media organizations worldwide.

Clearly, the general trend in the media industry is shiftingtowards mobile access, video content, and platform integration. 

In this new era, many traditional players are struggling to change and adapt. CGTN, though, is fortunate, as it doesn’t have to go through a painful rebirth. As a brand-new institution, CGTN has inherent “integration genes." 

As China’s flagship global media organization, China Global Television Network was launched on December 31, 2016. Distinct from a traditional television station, CGTN is committed to media convergence; as a multi-lingual, multi-platform institution, it operates six TV channels, three overseas production centers, a video content provider and a digital media division. 

Reflecting the priority we give to mobile distribution in our integrated communication, we have established the CGTN News Centre to coordinate the work of our Beijing headquarters with that of our North American and African operations. The News Centre directs the production of news content in five languages – English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian – which is then distributed via television, mobile networks, our news app and digital media, and also as video footage. 

Based on the principles of versatile news gathering, sharing across platforms and distribution through multiple channels and terminals, the News Centre has optimized its resource sharing. In addition to the vast amount of real-time TV and digital media content generated by CCTV, it has access to information provided by more than 25 thousand global internet outlets and 70 of the world’s leading media organizations. Its innovative configuration of workspace, technology and management supports the seamless integration and complementarity of television broadcasting and digital media.

The future of the media industry is a subject of debate in China. Some argue that content is king, others champion technology, and yet others put accessibility above everything else. A precept of ancient Chinese philosophy is that one can only be king by uniting heaven and earth. I believe that the Chinese character for “king” holds the key. The character, which is “wang” (王), is composed of four strokes. To my mind, the three horizontal bars represent content, technology and accessibility, which are made whole by the vertical pillar that is integration. In the media today, only integration can be king. 

To carry the analogy further, I believe that the character “wang” actually lacks a stroke, to signify the user. Only by keeping our users firmly in mind can we become both current and mainstream. 

With the addition of a stroke at the top, “wang” becomes “zhu” (主), a character denoting, in one sense, “that which is fundamental”. And also the word for "God". For media organizations, our users are fundamental. And our audience is our "God". CGTN’s TV channels are currently available in 170 countries and regions worldwide, watched by a total of 387 million viewers. Our various digital media platforms boast more than 87 million global subscribers. As of early November, CGTN’s English Facebook account had attracted 52.69 million subscribers, more than any other media organization in the world, and its YouTube account had garnered over 300 million hits. 

Launched simultaneously with CGTN was its mobile news app. Of more than 3.1 million downloads to date, 95 percent have originated outside China. 

In the era of integrated media, television is being redefined. And it’s you, the user, who is giving television its new identity. Wherever our millions and millions of users lead us, CGTN will follow.

Integrated communication requires the guarantee of a solid mechanism and sound management. At CGTN we are committed to the five “I”s. They are: Innovative; Invigorated; Interconnected; Inclusive; and Interactive. 

Innovation is the key to development; unburdened by historical baggage, CGTN is eager to pursue innovation and blaze a new trail in the integrated development of television and digital media. Vigour is the main criterion for measuring a media organization’s competitiveness; CGTN’s TV channels and digital media platforms are well equipped to adopt invigorated approaches in content gathering and presentation, and thereby to share with and involve their users. Only by being interconnected can we achieve integration and cohesion, and can we regulate operations and production across the whole organization. Having defined inclusiveness as a prerequisite for its growth, CGTN provides a climate in which reformers and innovators can flourish. Interactivity is the basis of integrated communication; by embracing the idea that communication is no longer one-way, CGTN aims to achieve mutually-beneficial cooperation between traditional broadcasting and digital media. By integrating the content of conventional and modern terminals and their respective audiences, we hope to create a virtuous circle between tabletop screen and handheld device, and to achieve the targeted distribution of information. 

CGTN’s innovations have benefited greatly from the achievements of our media colleagues’ untiring work. However, on the path of our further development, many questions still await answers. 

First of all, the patterns of communication via integrated media are still shifting and changing. To date, by prioritizing mobile distribution and live video streaming, by employing the various terminals of television, personal computer and handheld device, and by creating accounts on Facebook, YouTube and Weibo, we have diversified our output. However, in adapting to the specific features of various platforms and evaluating the effects of live webcasting, we have yet to find definite solutions. 

Our second challenge comes from the need to improve the way we communicate. Having successfully embraced digital media, mobile platforms, video content and interactivity, we are now seeking ways of providing more personalized content. 

Thirdly, we have to ensure that we are constantly improving as an organization. We need to build up an editorial staff capable of adapting to the demands of various media and a team of versatile journalists. We must continuously push the boundaries in our organizational and structural innovation. 

With these questions in mind, I’m looking forward to hearing the ideas and opinions of this forum. 

Openness brings progress, while aloofness inevitably results in being left behind. I think this is the implication of “A Shared Future." President Xi Jinping has said that China will not close its doors to the world, and will only become more and more open. We believe that an open China will inject more vitality into the development of the media. To this end, we are proposing the CGTN+ Initiative, designed to strengthen media content sharing, information integration, and business and personnel exchanges.

CGTN+ Content: We are building the “Belt and Road” international video archive, based on CGTN’s mobile platform.

CGTN+ Partnerships: We are seeking global innovative partnerships for sharing resources and programmes, for developing new types of programme, and for conducting comprehensive exchange and cooperation.

CGTN+ Intellectuals: We are inviting professionals from around the globe to join the CGTN commentators’ team, and ultimately create "The Belt and Road” global think tank.

CGTN+ Talents: We are proposing the establishment of a joint venture, “The Belt and Road Micro-video Communication Foundation”, which will select outstanding amateur directors and provide them with training opportunities, workshops and a broadcast platform. 

As the ancient Chinese saying goes, those who ignore the new will be stuck in the past. To survive and thrive in this era of change, we must keep an open mind and embrace new ideas. I hope that you will join CGTN in embracing change and creating a brand new era for the world’s media.

Thank you all!