Media exchanges serve as a bridge to promote close ties between China and the nations of ASEAN, and should make greater use of developing new technologies for an even greater contribution.

Scene of the 2019 ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum, held in Beijing on May 14, 2019. [Photo/China.org.cn]

This was one of the conclusions of participants in the 2019 ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum held in Beijing on Tuesday.

Moderated by Gao Anming, vice president of one of the forum organizers, China International Publishing Group (CIPG), the forum adopted a theme of "New Trends, New Cooperation, New Future." Over 200 people, including government officials, ambassadors, international organization representatives, as well as professionals from nearly 60 media outlets attended the event.

Participants exchanged views on how Chinese and ASEAN media outlets should actively adapt to new technologies and promote cooperation, and explore innovative ways to better report stories on achievements of win-win cooperation and strengthening people-to-people ties.

In opening remarks, Guo Weimin, vice minister of the State Council Information Office of China, said, "Linked by mountains and rivers, China and ASEAN nations share great similarities in culture. Our friendly interactions go a long way back. We are close friends, good neighbors and great partners."

Highlighting the fact that 2019 is the China-ASEAN Year of Media Exchanges, Guo said China would like to deepen pragmatic cooperation in trade, connectivity, technological innovation, and cultural exchanges in particular, under the guidance of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, and further promote bilateral media cooperation and people-to-people ties.

Du Zhanyuan, president of CIPG, echoed Guo's highlighting of the role of the media in promoting bilateral ties, and he suggested establishment of a mechanism for regular media exchanges and cooperation.

He said CIPG would like to share experiences with its counterparts in ASEAN, and would make vigorous innovations through practice and promote the application of new technologies in international communications.

Dr. AKP Mochtan, deputy secretary-general of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, observed that the "media landscape around the world has changed dramatically, and people can gather instantaneous information from the internet rather than merely from the traditional media." This enabled them to provide instantaneous reactions and comments on news through social media.

He suggested upgrading the skills of media outlets and media exchange programs, and making improvements by engaging more with the general public for a better popularization of the stories.

As editor-in-chief of China.org.cn, one of China's major media outlets, Wang Xiaohui said that, "engaging in this industry, we should seize all opportunities to exchange views, tap our full potential to cooperate, and open more channels of communication."

Expressing his confidence in the future of China-ASEAN media cooperation, he said that even mountains and seas cannot distance people with common aspirations; Chinese and ASEAN media outlets would work together to strengthen content innovation and expand communication channels, cooperate closely in media convergence, and actively promote personnel exchanges.

The forum was organized by the CIPG, the Mission of the People's Republic of China to ASEAN and the ASEAN-China Center.