Sharing opportunities on the new Silk Road, achieving win-win development

 -- Speech at the Media Leaders Roundtable Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2017

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

Good afternoon.

The seaside town Boao is picturesque in March, and it gives me great pleasure to meet media leaders from across Asia here. We can take this precious opportunity to share our thoughts on the Silk Road culture and develop our future plans. I have met many old friends and made new ones this time. On behalf of the State Council Information Office, I would like to express my cordial greetings, sincere gratitude and warm welcome to all foreign media friends.

After President Xi Jinping put forward the proposal in the fall of 2013 on building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative has attracted great attention and received a warm response from all over the world. In the past three years, the initiative has made much headway and gradually taken shape. More than 100 countries have responded, with nearly 50 cooperation agreements signed at governmental level and more than 70 agreements signed at departmental level. A batch of landmark cooperation projects have already started. They include the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway, the Hungary-Serbia Railway and the China-Laos Railway. Other infrastructure projects, such as sea ports, have also been launched. Global production capacity cooperation has been deepened. The Silk Road Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are running smoothly. The overall investments China has made in countries along the Belt and Road now surpass US$50 billion and have achieved a positive outcome.

China will host the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May in Beijing. Aiming to build a consensus, increased cohesion between the development strategies of different countries and set the direction of future development, the forum will identify key cooperation fields and projects, seek ways to establish a long-term cooperative mechanism, and build a network of close practical partnerships. As a high-level gathering of state leaders, international organization leaders and related personages from various circles, the forum will surely capture worldwide media attention. All media friends present today are welcomed to cover the event.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

The Belt and Road Initiative aims at promoting connectivity and dialogue on an equal footing. In the past three years, media friends from all over the world have participated in extensive cooperation and exchange programs regarding the initiative. By taking part in joint interviews, group discussions, information sharing, regular cooperation programs and other events, they have shown the people of other countries what the initiative is all about, and what positive results it has achieved. The further development of the initiative depends on your support. All of you can help introduce and explain it to common people, and can also contribute to the construction of the initiative.

Now, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on enhancing media cooperation to promote the Belt and Road Initiative. I have four points to make.

First, we should further spread the spirit and principle of the Belt and Road Initiative. Under the principle of achieving shared growth through consultation and collaboration, the initiative aims at promoting connectivity of policy, infrastructure, trade, finance and people. With the continuous progress of major projects, people living along the Belt and Road are now enjoying the great benefits brought about by the initiative. The initiative's spirit and principle have spread far and wide. I hope you can pay more attention to the topic of "win-win cooperation," write more stories to explain related policies and remove public doubts, and share the positive experiences and results of related cooperation programs. You can also focus on the economic cooperation promoted by the initiative, the values and chances it creates, the changes in people's lives, and the cultural affinity of related countries. I sincerely hope you can help foster an atmosphere favorable to the initiative's development and help spread positive energy to the rest of the world.

Second, we should further spread the spirit of globalization represented by the initiative. When addressing the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, President Xi said, "China has not only benefited from economic globalization, but also contributed to it." The Belt and Road Initiative has provided a continuous and powerful momentum to the steady economic growth of countries along the route, achieving more balanced world economic development. It represents the future trend of globalization. Human progress has witnessed many ups and downs; the same will happen in globalization. In the face of the current backlash against globalization, journalists from countries along the Belt and Road should gain a better understanding of the world and cooperate with each other to cover the initiative and the successful cases regarding connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation. You could also help promote the inclusive globalization spirit represented by the initiative.

Third, we should form a bridge for cultural exchange between countries along the Belt and Road. In the past, cultural exchanges were a major driving force for human progress. Today, enhancing cultural exchanges between different countries becomes even more important, because the world is more complex and fast-changing. In the ancient times, the Silk Road boosted both international trade and the cultural exchanges between different civilizations. Today, the development of media technologies provides new momentum for cultural interaction. I hope you can emphasize the essence of different cultures. By telling the stories of common people, you can help make the populations of different countries know more about each other. I also hope you can seek more ways to use new media tools, such as mobile technologies and social media platforms, to boost cultural interaction, promote in-depth cultural exchange and people-to-people communications, deepen mutual understanding of different peoples, and build a wide community of a shared future.

Fourth, we should enhance practical cooperation in the media sector. The fast development of new media and new technologies has offered both opportunities and challenges to the media industry. Integration and cooperation are a defining trend. The Belt and Road Initiative has provided media outlets in countries along the route with a cooperative platform and precious opportunities to make their voices heard more widely. I hope you can contribute to the development, prosperity and stabilization of the countries along the route. I also hope you can intensify the cooperation and communication with your peers, enhance the exchange of news stories and other information products, diversify cooperation methods, and promote personnel exchange. In particular, I suggest you conduct in-depth dialogue and cooperation in the new media sector. With our common efforts, media cooperation will reach new heights.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

The Media Leaders Roundtable is being held to boost media cooperation and facilitate cultural interaction in Asia. This session is the fifth to have been held. It offers media leaders an important platform to share their thoughts, experiences and development strategies. It also gives them a chance to make suggestions on how to increase Asian media's influence in the world. The meeting is significant to stimulating cooperation, enhancing mutual trust, and facilitating people-to-people communication in the region. I sincerely hope all of you can conduct extensive, in-depth discussions with other guests and help turn our consensus into tangible outcomes, thus creating more development opportunities for countries along the Belt and Road and bringing more benefits to the people.

In conclusion, I wish this meeting a complete success. Thank you.