President of China Media Group (CMG) Shen Haixiong extended New Year greetings on January 1, 2020 to overseas audiences via China Radio International and online.

In his New Year's speech, Shen said that 2020 is an auspicious and happy number, which is interpreted by Chinese internet users as a homophone for "ai ni ai ni," meaning "love you, love you" in Chinese.

He noted that many moments of 2019 have become important memories. There were grand celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), where audiences watched audio-visual feasts produced by CMG, including the multi-language documentary series "On the Road" and the 4K ultra-high-definition live film "When China Wows the World: The 2019 Grand Military Parade," and learned about China's extraordinary history of the past 70 years.

In the past year, CMG strived to capture the memorable moments of China's journey, showcasing a true, multi-dimensional and panoramic view of China in this new era, Shen said. Entrusted by Chinese President Xi Jinping to uphold integrity and utilize new media platforms, CMG is committed to building a world-class mainstream media group driven by innovation.

Shen said CMG has always adhered to the principle of reporting on major events in an objective and unbiased way. "We conduct exchanges with our counterparts at home and abroad on the basis of equality and with an open-minded and cooperative attitude," he said. 

"That said, I regret to see that some sections of the Western media have seemed to suffer from 'selective blindness' when covering some events related to China. Some have even published hearsay and rumors as news, resulting in distortions and inaccuracies," Shen said. "Pursuing truth and eliminating prejudice is commendable work," he said, adding that CMG will continue to be a voice of facts, truth and justice in the world.

Moreover, Shen said that through his experience of communicating and interacting with media peers around the world, he has discovered that there is no reason why the residents of the "global village" shouldn't communicate and mingle, and exchanges between members of the media can remove misunderstandings and prejudice, and turn more people into friends. 

Shen stressed that 2020 will be the year of decisive victory in China's anti-poverty campaign which will bring all-round prosperity for the country's nearly 1.4 billion people, an unprecedented achievement in human history. By bringing more stories that matter to China and the rest of the world, CMG will inject more positive energy to the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.