The China International Documentary Forum runs from April 3 to 4. The ceremony for the establishment of BriDoc (The Belt-and-Road Initiative Documentary Consortium) took place in Beijing today.

The event was attended by more than 120 representatives from 15 countries, including renowned documentary scholars, directors, and leaders of production organizations, exhibition and media groups.

"On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it is of great significance for Chinese and foreign documentary industry to jointly discuss the cooperation and development of documentaries," said Jiang Jianguo, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The China Documentary Research Center has launched "The Belt and Road Initiative Documentary Consortium" to create a platform for international cooperation in the field of documentary production among countries not only along the routes of the Belt and Road, but also elsewhere. 

He Suliu, director of the China Documentary Research Center, said, "The principles of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. The second BRI forum will be held soon, and this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. I think for global documentary partners, it's a good time and great opportunity to cooperate together." 

The "70 Years of New China – Global Documentary Partnership" was also launched during the forum. 

Jiang Heping, Controller of CGTN, China Media Group, said, "The Partnership program's main focus will be China's sharing economy, targeted poverty relief, sports industry, environmental protection, system of healthcare, gender equality, rural area transformation, cultural heritage, contemporary development, urbanization, and other issues that are of interest to the international community. Presented through documentary imagery and with a global interpretation, the treatment of these topics will offer a distinctive perspective on the Chinese people's untiring undertakings and endeavors."

Jiang Heping added that working with international documentary filmmakers, production companies, and media organizations, between 8 and 12 original, in-depth China-themed documentaries are expected to be produced. 

Daya Thussu, Disney Chair in Global Media, Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University, said,"This is extremely important, because in this globalized world, we need to cooperate with media organizations around the world, and I am also happy to see that China has already been doing it."

Clayton Dube, Director of U.S.-China Institute, University of Southern California, said, "CCTV and CGTN have already produced a lot of documentaries on the Belt and Road, and many of these are very useful and very informative, so I think that is already a major step forward."

Global partners also joined the brainstorm of bolder and more original plans. Attendees said China's transformation has astonished the world, and the world's progress has inspired China. In the name of documentary filmmaking, they are looking forward to sharing with the world the beauty of China and the story of China's transformation. 

(CGTN's Yang Meng also contributed to the story.)