International guests who participated in the second CMG Forum, held this week in Shanghai, have praised the event for showing the strength of global cooperation.

The second CMG Forum, co-hosted by China Media Group and Shanghai Municipal People's Government, was themed "Opening-up, Inclusiveness, Mutual Benefit: Join hands on the path towards modernization."

Three sub-forums and several sub-events were held as well as the main forum from Wednesday to Friday. Guests from international organizations, media organizations, think tanks and multinational enterprises were invited to discuss paths to modernization and look for opportunities for further cooperation.

Prior to the main forum, a sub-event called "Shanghai Night" was held on a cruise liner floating down the Huangpu River. The event was intended to build a platform for foreign envoys and business representatives to cooperate.

"I'm really happy that they initiated this event," said Ravit Baer, consul general of Israel to Shanghai. "It gives me an opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people and interact. We always find more opportunities to increase cooperation, whether it's business, cultural or media, anything that connects people."

Marcelo Clovis Magnou Pérez, consul general of Uruguay to Shanghai, came to the city 20 years ago and was happy to witness its development on the cruise. "I talked with many CEOs and they were very interested in coming to Uruguay to invest and see the market." He added that Uruguay was the first country in the Atlantic to join the Belt and Road Initiative, and it welcomes Chinese companies.

Meanwhile, a cultural tour was also held during the three-day forum, taking representatives from international media organizations to the Shanghai Museum and the iconic Yu Garden. The tour offered guests an insight into Shanghai's history and vibrancy.

Renowned investor Jim Rogers still remembers the first time he came to Shanghai about 40 years ago, when the Pudong New Area was still a farm. "And look at this, nobody can believe this," he said. "China has changed dramatically and now it's fantastic."

When asked about China Media Group's (CMG) call for media cooperation to face global challenges, Rogers said that he hopes CMG can get everybody to do this. "The world needs this. I know the closing off is not good for anybody, so I hope China and the West continue to open and work together for more prosperity." 

The forum was initiated by CMG in 2022 with the aim of building a platform for exchange and cooperation between media organizations from around the world. Three sub-forums were held during the second edition covering "opportunities under global changes," "China's high-quality development" and "media responsibility."