Media leaders for Asia Summit: A "new era" of Asian media cooperation

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There are 48 countries in Asia, the largest and most populated continent on Earth.

140 media delegates from 40 Asian countries gathered in China’s Hainan Province on Monday morning for the Media Leaders for Asia Summit – part of the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia.

The conference is billed as the start of a new era of Asian media cooperation with inter-connectivity and innovative development.

“The whole media world is going through a big change with all the breakthroughs in communication and technology. So it’s very important for all the mainstream media to sit together to discuss future cooperation to better report the real news and facts,” Lee Huay Leng, head of the Chinese Media Group, an affiliate of the Singapore Press Holdings, said.

Huang Kunming, minister of the CPC Central Publicity Department. /State Council Information Office of China

Huang Kunming, minister of the Central Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China gave a keynote speech. And Shen Haixiong, president of China Media Group, presided over the summit.

This year is the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up. Huang said China is willing to share its development outcomes with Asia and the world.

Professor B.R. Deepak from Jawaharlal Nehru University of India said Asian media should promote successful development strategies to the world in order to better push forward global economic and social development.

The main theme of this year’s Boao Forum for Asia annual conference is an open and innovative Asia for greater prosperity. Media leaders here hope their organizations can help the continent be more open and innovative through closer cooperation.

Shen Haixiong, president of China Media Group, presided over the summit. /State Council Information Office of China

59 Asian media organizations from 32 countries released a declaration on further pushing forward the Belt & Road News Alliance, which was initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2017.

Also at the summit, 19 media outlets from 12 countries signed nine agreements on news sharing, joint interviews and media development. Orange TV from Indonesia is one of the cooperation partners, and its commercial director, Al Greeny S. Dewayanti said it is a cooperation of great significance in building a better world and a better ASEAN.

Okinnaka Susumu, president & CEO of the Asahi Broadcasting Group from Japan told CGTN that, personally, he thought media cooperation in Asia should pay more attention to the exchanging entertainment programs and documentaries, which could better embody local people’s lives and cultures and promote mutual understanding among countries.