"Media need to keep up with changes brought by the Belt and Road"

The second 21st Century Maritime Silk Road China (Guangdong) International Communication Forum was held in China's southern coastal city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province on Thursday. Co-hosted by China Media Group and the Guangdong provincial government, the theme of this year's forum was "New Era, New Silk Road, New Image."

Hu Bangsheng, deputy director general of China Radio International under China Media Group, delivers a keynote speech at the second 21st Century Maritime Silk Road China (Guangdong) International Communication Forum on Thursday, September 20, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Famous experts, scholars, and media executives conducted in-depth dialogue on the achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative, and efforts to strengthen cooperation among the associated media organizations. Speakers included former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, 2011 Nobel Prize winner and New York University professor Thomas J. Sargent, and Mexico Reforma's CEO Heraldo Laura Gonzalez.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister, delivers a keynote speech at the second 21st Century Maritime Silk Road China (Guangdong) International Communication Forum on Thursday, September 20, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, spoke highly of China's Belt and Road Initiative. "In Europe, we have a lot of projects for infrastructure, for connectivity with the Road, with the Belt," he said. And he emphasized the importance of countries coming together to discuss and build on this new vision.

Thomas J. Sargent, 2011 Nobel Prize winner and New York University professor, delivers a keynote speech at the second 21st Century Maritime Silk Road China (Guangdong) International Communication Forum on Thursday, September 20, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Thomas J. Sargent, who delivered a speech on the future of Guangdong over the next forty years, said that the Belt and Road Initiative follows the trend of the new era. He said that the Belt and Road Initiative is good for people outside China, because it creates competition and new ideas, and creates good opportunities along the route.

In a key speech at the forum, Hu Bangsheng, the deputy director general of China Radio International under China Media Group, said that the Belt and Road Initiative has clearly produced outstanding results since it was first proposed five years ago. Hu spoke of the importance of ensuring that the international media keeps up with the changing needs of communities along the route as they develop economically. This is in line, he said, with the call to action made by Xi Jinping, China's president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China, in a report to the party's 19th National Congress last year: "We will improve our capacity for engaging in international communication so as to tell China's stories well, present a true, multi-dimensional, and panoramic view of China, and enhance our country's cultural soft power."

Heraldo Laura Gonzalez, Mexico Reforma's CEO, delivers a keynote speech at the second 21st Century Maritime Silk Road China (Guangdong) International Communication Forum on Thursday, September 20, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

In order to improve the media's capacity for international dialogue, and to ensure the stories of the development of the Belt and Road are told well, Hu said that media organizations should understand the situation and needs of the target audiences, and approach the task of cross-cultural communication from the perspective of equality. He also called on media organizations to strengthen their exchanges with countries along the Belt and Road, to build cooperation with enterprises, and to seek common ground while respecting each other's differences.