——Side notes on the 2025 "Belt and Road" Media Cooperation Forum (Part 1)

From September 16 to 17, the 2025 "Belt and Road" Media Cooperation Forum, co-organized by People's Daily, the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Yunnan Provincial People's Government, was held in Kunming City, Yunnan Province. More than 200 foreign representatives from 87 countries and international and regional organizations, 165 media and institutions attended the meeting.

Media cooperation plays an important role in jointly building the "Belt and Road". President Xi Jinping stressed that the "Belt and Road" Media Cooperation Forum provides a platform for media dialogue, exchanges and practical cooperation among various countries. We hope that media from all countries will make good use of this platform and actively and effectively promote the development of national relations, communicate people's hearts and opinions, and deepen understanding and mutual trust, and play an active role in the construction of the "Belt and Road".

Since its establishment in 2014, the "Belt and Road" Media Cooperation Forum has been successfully held for 9 sessions. More than 1,000 representatives from foreign media and international and regional organizations from more than 100 countries and regions were invited to attend the meeting to unite our efforts to promote the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road".

At this forum, the guests discussed the Silk Road measures to deepen exchanges and cooperation around the theme of "sharing media responsibilities and promoting mutual learning in civilizations", discussed the media role of promoting mutual learning in civilizations, and promoted high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" in depth and practical.

Be a good practitioner and promoter of the Silk Road spirit and actively spread the concept of civilization of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness.

The Silk Road crosses mountains and seas, and the media connects the voices of the heart. In recent years, the "Belt and Road" Media Cooperation Forum and the "Belt and Road" News Cooperation Alliance initiated by the People's Daily have actively played a role to promote the formation of a media cooperation pattern with wide coverage, coordinated and coordinated linkage.

Under the new circumstances, how media from all countries can unite and cooperate and speak out together to better promote the spirit of the Silk Road and spread the story of the Silk Road is the common concern of the guests.

At the opening ceremony, Wang Ning, Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, displayed four sets of photos from the media around win-win cooperation, benefiting the people, knowing each other, and helping each other, including the "Zhenghe" train launched by the Zhonglao Railway in July this year, and the organic rice cultivation project jointly developed by Yunnan and Bali Province, Indonesia... "Yunnan's road to opening up is getting wider and wider. The most important support and strongest engine is the practical results of jointly building the Belt and Road." Wang Ning introduced that in the 12 years since the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative was proposed, it has followed the trend, won the hearts of the people, benefited people's livelihood, and benefited the world, and has achieved remarkable achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. In recent years, Yunnan has actively served and integrated into the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and accelerated the construction of China's radiation center facing South Asia and Southeast Asia, which has become an important frontier for China's opening to the south. In the four years since the opening of the China-Laos Railway, freight has covered 19 countries and transported more than 3,300 kinds of goods. I hope the media will use lenses and brushstrokes to record more touching moments and tell more stories about the Silk Road.

"In today's world, open cooperation is the historical trend, mutual benefit and win-win situation is the will of the people. The collective rise of southern countries around the world, and the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative has broad space and strong momentum." Wang Gang, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, said in his speech that the certainty of the contribution of the "Belt and Road" to the world is particularly important, the cohesion created is more critical, and the positive energy it brings is precious. It is hoped that media from all countries will report in-depth on the latest progress and vivid practice of jointly building the "Belt and Road", tell the stories of people of all countries getting to know each other, elaborate on the institutional contributions made by the "Belt and Road" to global development and governance, objectively and truly present and disseminate the real and heavy achievements of jointly building the "Belt and Road", amplify positive voices, enhance consensus building, enhance confidence and help all parties to always work together and move forward steadily in the journey of jointly building the "Belt and Road".

"People's Daily and the media jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative have actively explored the establishment of a wide range, multi-form, and normalized media cooperation mechanism, carried out in-depth cooperation and communication projects such as joint interviews, joint management, and web interconnection, and launched a large number of high-quality news works. Through everyone's joint efforts, the media cooperation mechanism of the Belt and Road Initiative has been continuously improved, the cooperation content is becoming increasingly rich, and the cooperation platform is continuously expanded." Yu Shaoliang, president of the People's Daily, said at the opening ceremony that the initiative to build the Belt and Road Initiative originated from China, and opportunities and achievements belong to the world. The media should take the initiative to shoulder the important responsibility of information dissemination, enhancing mutual trust, and building consensus, widely publicize the core concepts, rich connotations and practical results of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, deeply clarify that the cooperation of the "Belt and Road" follows the general trend of the times and historical trends, conforms to the general expectations and common interests of all countries in the world, and continuously enhances the international community's value recognition, concept recognition and emotional recognition of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, and gather more wisdom and strength for the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road".

Be a good recorder and narrator of development achievements and gather positive energy for win-win cooperation and cooperation

The guests at the meeting said that over the past 12 years, the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has formed a chorus of common development in the context of mutual benefit and mutual benefit. One by one, one by one, one by one, one by one, a large number of "small and beautiful" people's livelihood projects have been laid out, and a large number of "small and beautiful" people's livelihood projects have been taken root.

"Yunnan has been the gateway for China from land to South Asia and Southeast Asia since ancient times. More than 600 years ago, navigator Zheng He went to the West seven times and wrote an immortal chapter of ancient China's exchanges with countries around the world." Wang Yubo, deputy secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and governor, said that jointly building the "Belt and Road" spans different regions, different development stages, and different civilizations, is a global public product jointly created by all parties. Whether it is the construction and operation of the China-Laos Railway, the increasingly close trade cooperation, or the small and beautiful projects that are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, it has created a new model of regional cooperation and created a new model of mutual benefit and win-win results. To jointly build the "Belt and Road" with high quality, the media is the recorder, participant and promoter. We look forward to Chinese and foreign media using lenses and brushstrokes to discover, record and disseminate more Chinese and Yunnan stories, and widely gather the tremendous power to open up the broad prospects of the "Belt and Road".

The major initiative of "Constructing the Belt and Road" is based on the common pursuit of peace and development of people of all countries around the world, and conforms to the requirements of the times for the reform of the global governance system, outlines new vision, stimulates new momentum, and expands new space for global development." Chen Jianwen, editor-in-chief of the People's Daily, said that the joint construction of the Belt and Road focuses on the fireworks of everyone, helps each other and goes far. It advocates that oneself and allows others to live a good life. It practices connectivity, mutual benefit and mutual benefit, and seeks common development and win-win cooperation. The media should draw wisdom and strength from the ancient Silk Road, innovate communication methods, improve communication effects, vigorously promote the spirit of the Silk Road, continuously create a public opinion environment conducive to win-win cooperation, continuously promote higher-level, more resilient and more sustainable win-win development, and contribute media strength to the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road".

"The key to "combining the Belt and Road Initiative together is connectivity." Li Yang, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport, said that the "hard connectivity" of infrastructure, "soft connectivity" of standard rules, and "heart connectivity" of cultural exchanges have all made great progress. The common vision of "people enjoy their actions and things flow smoothly" is accelerating the realization of countries that jointly build the "Belt and Road Initiative". Thanks to domestic and foreign media for using lenses to perceive and record the achievements of interconnection. The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" is moving towards the next golden decade. As long as we adhere to the principle of consultation, joint construction and sharing, practice the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, the road to jointly building a country with a "Belt and Road" will become wider and wider.

Ni Zhen, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and general manager of China Energy Construction Group Co., Ltd., introduced that China Energy Construction insists on project-driven development and promotes the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" cooperation toward practical development. At present, six regional headquarters have been established around the world, with business scope covering 147 countries and regions, and a number of high-standard, sustainable, and beneficial landmark projects and "small and beautiful" projects are designed and invested.

Be a good participant and promoter of mutual learning between civilizations, and make the foundation for building a community with a shared future for mankind more solid.

The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" pursues development, advocates win-win, and conveys hope. Standing at the new stage and starting point of jointly building the "Belt and Road", the guests at the meeting expressed that they should jointly inherit and carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road and cultivate the friendship between the Silk Road. In order to promote the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road", promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and build an open, inclusive, interconnected and common development world, show the responsibility of the media and contribute the strength of the media.

Hua Tao, deputy secretary of the Party Committee, vice chairman and general manager of Wuliangye Co., Ltd., said that over the past 12 years, the "Belt and Road" has connected the east and west, spanning ancient and modern times, and has become the most popular international public product and the largest international cooperation platform in the world today. It is a great practice to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

"In today's world, cooperation, not confrontation, is the main tone. We should not be stingy in praising countries that regard multilateralism as the core of development. We urgently need global leaders who are committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind. Let us build a bridge of understanding and bridge the rift that threatens the continuation of civilization." said Siyawuya Mzanzi, editor-in-chief of South Africa's Cape Times.

Hani Wafa, editor-in-chief of Saudi Arabia's Riyadh newspaper, said that the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative has opened up broad development prospects for countries around the world and reshape the concept of international partnership on the basis of common development and mutual respect. At present, the world is facing severe challenges such as economic change, climate change, energy and food security, and it is urgent to strengthen cooperation and integration of the international community and jointly seek solutions. As an important cooperation platform, the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" provides an effective path to promote the economic and social development of the joint construction of the country.

"Building a community with a shared future for mankind is the future of people of all countries in the world." Liu Xiang, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of China Communications Construction Group Co., Ltd., introduced that China Communications Construction Group has deeply integrated into the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and has cooperated with 158 countries and regions. 18 projects including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that participated in the construction were engraved on the coins of the country's residence, becoming the "eternal business card" that transcends culture and witnesses friendship.

Pavel Negoita, president of Russia's Russian newspaper, said that the global Internet governance system should move in a more fair and reasonable direction and reflect the opinions and interests of most countries more balancedly.

Abdul Majid Haji, general manager of Bahrain's Gulf News, believes that the reason why civilization flourishes is to build bridges rather than build high walls. Bahrain and China have a very deep history of exchanges. Pakistan and China are committed to uniting around the world and playing the role of the two countries as an envoy for spreading peace.

Leonardo Atuchi, CEO of Brazil 247 Media Group, said that the global South must strengthen media cooperation, not only content exchange, but also share experience and deepen cooperation in areas such as social media and artificial intelligence. Only in this way can we jointly shape a more just narrative and build a more peaceful world.

Zheng He Cultural Museum in Malacca, Malaysia brought Zheng He puppet puppets, Chinese and Vietnamese musicians used Vietnamese instrumental music to interpret the music of four Chinese classics, the largest single-unit photovoltaic power station project in the Middle East that can be seen on satellite maps, Russian tourists celebrated the first "intangible cultural heritage" Spring Festival... During the forum, people from all walks of life from countries jointly building the "Belt and Road" shared their personal experiences and gathered into the "Big Road" story collection, "Walking together and coexisting with each other" Silk Road story.

Countless vivid stories of cultural exchanges and mutual learning and mutual learning confirm that the "Belt and Road" road of cooperation and win-win will surely become wider and wider.