The "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed that "accelerate the construction of Chinese discourse and Chinese narrative system, comprehensively improve the efficiency of international communication", and building an international communication discourse system with strong influence has become a key path to improve the efficiency of international communication. This issue's column focuses on the topic of "What kind of international communication discourse do we need today?" and invites Professor Hu Zhengrong from the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to have a dialogue with Wu Xu of the China News Service to discuss how to accelerate the construction of an international communication discourse system, convey Chinese voices with diversified narratives, accurately convey Chinese values, and show the world a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China.

Hu Zhengrong et al.: Realizing the upgrading from "telling good Chinese stories" to "spreading good Chinese values"

Communication determines influence, and discourse determines initiative. Entering a new era, China's comprehensive national strength has steadily enhanced and its international status has significantly improved. China's development has attracted increasingly attention from the whole world. In recent years, my country's international communication work has continued to strengthen. Although a relatively complete multi-subject and three-dimensional foreign propaganda pattern has been formed, from the perspective of the transformation of effect to effectiveness evaluation paradigm, the communication, guidance, influence and credibility of Chinese discourse in the international public opinion field is still insufficient. The dilemma of "not being able to speak out if it is reasonable, not being able to spread it, and no one believes it if it is transmitted" has not yet improved. Therefore, in order to respond to the international community's deep understanding of China's needs and effectively support the development process of Chinese modernization, it is urgent to build an international communication discourse system that matches China's practice and is effective, so as to achieve an upgrade from "telling good Chinese stories" to "disseminating good Chinese values".

The timeliness and urgency of upgrading the international communication discourse system

From the perspective of endogenous driving force, upgrading the discourse system is a strategic requirement for achieving balanced development of comprehensive national strength. The internal logic of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way requires the dialectical unity and coordinated development of "hard power" and "soft power". According to the report "2025 Global Soft Power Index" released by Brand, a global brand valuation consulting company, although China's soft power ranking has risen to second in the world, it has scored relatively low on key indicators such as "media and communication", "governance capabilities", "culture and heritage", and "people and values". This imbalance between hard power and soft power reflects the shortcomings of my country's modern international communication capabilities, and further highlights the lagging situation of China's discourse system construction. How to transform China's localization practice into Chinese experience, Chinese solutions and Chinese wisdom with universal significance has become an internal driving force for promoting the upgrading of the discourse system.

From the perspective of the external environment, upgrading the discourse system is the key path to break through the Western-centric narrative framework. A report from the Pew Research Center in the United States in 2024 pointed out that "for five consecutive years, about 80% of Americans have negative views on China, and 43% have very negative views." The formation of this negative cognition stems from my country's "abandonment of role" on major international issues, and the "other narrative" brought about by this absence. At present, the international situation is intertwined, and the United States' strategic hostility to China is showing a trend of dispersing to all areas of society; Western media have also frequently set "discourse traps" against China, and China's image is continuously distorted under the framework of Western-centristic narrative. Therefore, realizing the "reframework" of Chinese narrative in the international public opinion field constitutes a realistic consideration to promote the upgrading of the discourse system.

In terms of purpose, upgrading the discourse system is an issue of the times that adapts to the shift in the international discourse power struggle. Value communication constitutes the essential content of the struggle for discourse power, and the struggle for discourse power provides practical guarantees for the dissemination of values. With the deepening of the process of globalization and the continuous highlighting of local practical values ​​in the south of the world, the explanatory power of the "universal values" in the West has been in crisis. In this context, breaking the existing "center-edge" communication structure through the competition for discourse power and exploring the establishment of a fair and reasonable new international communication order has become the value purpose of upgrading the discourse system.

Core connotation: Multi-level construction of a discourse system with Chinese characteristics

As a discourse group of China's interactions with the world, the international communication discourse system carries the functional positioning of the expression of the "Chinese model" theory. It presents three levels from the surface and the inside: the surface is the fact layer representing the content of "discourse", which is based on the identity concept production based on the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics; the middle is the logical layer for forming a "system", which not only explains the theoretical self-consistentness of China's experience, but also provides an international audience with a non-Western-centered cognitive framework to understand China; the deep layer is reflected in the value consensus layer ultimately pointed to by the "discourse system", that is, to realize an equal dialogue between Chinese values ​​and the common values ​​of all mankind with identity as the core.

Fact layer: Discourse content of identity concept production

The fact layer of the international communication discourse system is rooted in the objective material practice of the development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It not only points to China's concrete achievements in economic construction, political development, cultural prosperity, scientific and technological innovation, but also contains China's thousands of years of history, modern and contemporary revolutionary struggles and reform and opening up.

In the fact layer, concepts are the basic constituent units of discourse, and their systematic production and relevance construction are crucial. On the one hand, we must creatively refine, summarize and output a series of identifier concepts that can accurately explain Chinese characteristics and development logic. Its core function lies in "recognition of facts", which is the official expression and authoritative definition of China's image in the international public opinion field. On the other hand, we should also pay attention to the internal connection between concepts and form a synergy effect. This requires us to look back on tradition and activate the iconic concepts of Chinese civilization that demonstrate the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, such as "the world is for the public" and "the people are the foundation of the country", and to focus on the present and transform Chinese modernization practices such as "poverty alleviation" and "whole process people's democracy" into shared discourse symbols; we must also look at the world and include Chinese solutions such as global development initiatives, global security initiatives, and global civilization initiatives into discourse content, so as to present a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China in the interweaving of historical depth and reality breadth, laying a solid discourse foundation for the international community to recognize the "Chinese model".

Logical layer: Discourse structure of China's cognitive framework

"System" refers to the discourse form that exists in a structured manner. As the discourse interpretation structure of the international communication discourse system, the logical layer of the discourse system forms a "system" discourse interpretation structure, is committed to forming a "Chinese model" interpretation structure with theoretical consistency, and at the same time, it guides international audiences to decode the core of Chinese practice in accordance with preset logic.

From a diachronic perspective, the discourse structure of China's cognitive framework must establish the theoretical self-consistentness of the "Chinese model" through the three dimensions of "traditional China", "modern China" and "global China", that is, to explain the contemporary transformation of the five thousand-year continuum of Chinese civilization from a civilized perspective, to demonstrate the paradigm innovation of the new form of human civilization from a development perspective, and to interpret the transition from a global participant to a leader from a global perspective, the three complement each other and form a three-dimensional coordinate system that explains the laws of China's development. From the perspective of synchronicity, the discourse structure of China's cognitive framework must also focus on breaking through the existing binary opposition discourse frameworks such as "tradition and modernity", "civilization and barbarism", "freedom and autocracy" in the international public opinion field, especially innovating non-confrontational discourse categories on sensitive issues such as political systems, human rights protection, and ethnic religions, providing alternative explanatory frameworks for mutual learning rather than conflict for civilization exchanges, and building an intersubjective cognitive structure that is dialectically unified with "China's World" and "China of the World", and laying a discourse structure guarantee for the dissemination of Chinese values ​​with universal explanatory power.

Value Level: The Discourse Core of Cross-Cultural Identity

The "discourse system" not only includes structured discourse relationship forms, but also includes the integrated effectiveness released through structured forms. As a deeper meaning structure, the value layer of the international communication discourse system is essentially an integrated expression of Chinese social ideology, culture and ideology. The core lies in breaking through the boundaries of regions, ethnic groups and ideological, and achieving cross-cultural identity through the convergence of value consensus.

To upgrade the international communication discourse system, we must stand on the discourse standpoint of socialism with Chinese characteristics and systematically refine and cross-cultural sublimation of the value of the "Chinese model". On the one hand, we must base ourselves on the "soul veins" and "root veins" of Marxism and the excellent traditional Chinese culture, grasp the core values ​​of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, and sublimate the comprehensive development of subject civilization, the people-oriented shared civilization, the ecological civilization of harmonious coexistence, and the world civilization of harmony and harmony into a discourse resource beyond the Western single modernity model, and respond to the global anxiety caused by the modernity crisis; on the other hand, we must also use the "community of shared future for mankind" as the value axis for integrating China and abroad. On the premise of acknowledging the diversity and equality of civilizations, we must seek the greatest common divisor of equal dialogue through the expression of the common value of the socialist core values ​​and the common value of all mankind, so that Chinese discourse can maintain the Chinese characteristics of "each beauty and its beauty" and realize the cross-cultural dialogue ability of "beauty and beauty", and ultimately achieve the dimension of the discourse system in terms of fact cognition, emotional resonance and value identity.

Narrative strategy: storytelling of contemporary value and world significance

Narrative is a key link that transforms the discourse system into sensible, knowable and transitive. The telling of Chinese stories requires the coordinates of contemporary values ​​and world significance. Through common, empathetic and shared narrative strategies, Chinese discourse is translated into Chinese stories with both local depth and global breadth to achieve the output of Chinese values.

Common narrative: The core is to break through the perspective of a single subject, integrate Chinese discourse into contemporary and global issues, and build a common meaning space for both sides. The content of the communication of mainstream media in my country on overseas social media platforms is still centered on traditional culture, and it lacks response to contemporary China's image shaping and global issues. Although foreign media pay attention to China's contemporary issues, they often interpret it from the perspective of "other", resulting in one-sided and stereotyped Chinese image internationally. The narrative of international communication should combine what we want to tell with what foreign audiences want to hear, and continue to increase the supply of content content of the story of "Modern China". At the same time, based on the common interests of the world, focus on global public issues such as climate change and environmental protection, connect China's contemporary practice with the common concerns of all mankind, and spread the good image of "Global China" to the world.

Empathetic narrative: The core lies in using visual and emotional story expressions to break through cross-cultural cognitive barriers. Mainstream media tend to focus on information notification mode rather than story-based narrative when presenting China's development achievements, which triggers confrontational interpretations from international audiences. Therefore, when it comes to appropriate issues, we should turn to the coding method of "flexible voice" and combine "disclosure" and "reasoning". This requires us to adapt to the trend of mobile, socialized and visualization of international communication, use artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other technologies to create immersive story content, and use visual expression to lower the threshold for cultural decoding; we must also take the daily life and changes in destiny of ordinary individuals as the core of narrative, focus on common human emotions such as family, friendship, and struggle, and find the communication "touchpoints" of empathy, resonance and resonance.

Shared narrative: The core is to explore the integration point between Chinese values ​​and the common values ​​of all mankind, and promote deep recognition of values ​​in storytelling. The concepts such as "harmony between man and nature" and "self-improvement" contained in the excellent traditional Chinese culture deeply reflect the Chinese people's view of the universe, the world, the society and the moral concepts; and the common values ​​of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom represent the universal pursuit of human civilization, and the internal compatibility of the two lays a solid theoretical foundation for shared narratives. The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative is a shared narrative carrier connecting history and reality, and China and the world. The story tells vividly reflects this value connection: the transcontinental logistics network built by the China-Europe Express closely connects the markets of various countries, promotes resource exchange and economic prosperity, and is the value echo of the "world for the public" and the "peace and development". These all highlight the contemporary value and world significance of the Chinese story.

Communication path: System support for intelligent international communication

In the wave of intelligence driven by data, algorithms and computing power, the country and society are moving towards a new model of communityization. The upgrading of the international communication discourse system should be guided by precise thinking and supported by intelligent international communication system to realize the role positioning of the discourse subject, the selection and adaptation of the discourse medium, and the precise dissemination of the discourse object.

In terms of the role positioning of the discourse subject, the classification and diversity of the international communication discourse subjects is the basis for adapting to the differences in the needs of international audiences and presenting a real three-dimensional and comprehensive image of China. International communication has formed a network of discourse subjects including multiple subjects. At present, we should abandon the "singing together" model based on the own roles of each discourse subject to achieve a "symphony" collaborative narrative. In particular, we must strengthen cooperation between the official and the private, domestic and international subjects, and activate the power of discourse subjects outside non-governmental departments and mainstream media. For example, the "third cultural person" represented by "foreign internet celebrities" can interpret China's achievements, experience and value from a small incision and low-context foreign perspective; multinational enterprises that have both economic participants and cultural messengers can demonstrate the heritage and vitality of Chinese modernization by producing Chinese products that carry Chinese cultural genes. These subjects’ discourse practices are closer to life, real and sensible, and help to accurately improve the international communication effect of the region.

As for the selection and adaptation of discourse media, diversification of communication channels is the key to achieving segmented matching of discourse content and audiences, and it is necessary to achieve an organic unity of smooth channels and effective means and platform adaptation. In terms of "borrowing ships to go overseas", overseas digital media platforms have strong monopoly, and we must also be wary of the risks of lack of data ownership and algorithm bias. In terms of "shipping and going to sea", user data is the core resource for precise dissemination, and it is necessary to strengthen the construction of independent and controllable communication platforms. In addition, we must actively expand and deepen the integration of Chinese discourse in multiple communication formats, and by enhancing visibility, interactivity and immersive experience, Chinese discourse naturally embeds into multiple communication scenarios, and realizes the long-tail effect of Chinese discourse dissemination in the communication product ecosystem composed of product chains, supply chains, and value chains.

In terms of the precise dissemination of discourse objects, the audiences of countries around the world have significant differences in acceptance of Chinese discourse due to different countries and ethnic groups, social classes, political tendencies, knowledge structures and cultural habits. With the support of intelligent technology, the output of international communication discourse can achieve a high degree of adaptation to the cultural and value levels of target countries. At the same time, digital and intelligent technology can also be used to provide more accurate portraits of users, implement "one group, one policy" in response to the differentiation of the circles of the online society, and even explore personalized communication of "thousands of people and thousands of faces".

As a timely issue to improve the efficiency of international communication, the upgrading of the international communication discourse system requires three sets of relationships to be grasped: First, the dialectical unity of cognition and practice. We must be realistic about China's achievements and experiences to the international community, and we must face the problems and challenges encountered on China's development path, and not build a "castle in the air" discourse system. Second, the critical transcendence of the unity of opposites. We must not only deconstruct the binary opposition narrative framework preset by Western discourse, but also absorb the essence of common values ​​of mankind with an open attitude of exchange and mutual learning between civilizations, and construct dialogue rationality and intersubjective understanding in discourse tension. Third, the value fusion of particularity and universality. We must always take the "community of shared future for mankind" as the value guide, integrate the particular narrative of China's path into the global perspective and discussion of the universality of the world, and make China's discourse more convincing, vital and international influential.

Wu Xu: Consensus and consensus are implemented, and use diversified narratives to convey Chinese voice

In the process of telling the world about contemporary China, international communication is showing a real and three-dimensional Chinese appearance in a way that is closer to ordinary people and more resonant. As the main force of external communication, China News Service (hereinafter referred to as "China News Service") has always adhered to innovative exploration, transformed the communication concept of the new era into solid practice, conveyed China's voice with diversified narratives, and continuously built a bridge of cross-cultural communication.

Strategic background and real-life challenges

The competition for global discourse rights is becoming increasingly fierce. With the accelerated evolution of major changes unseen in a century, the clash of ideas and collision of values ​​in the international public opinion field have become more complicated. Grasping the initiative in international discourse has become a major strategic issue.

The Western discourse framework needs to be broken through urgently. For a long time, Chinese narratives have often been in a passive position of "other-shaping". To achieve the transformation from "passive response" to "active leadership", we must build China's independent discourse system and narrative logic, use Chinese theory to explain Chinese practice, elevate Chinese practice into theoretical achievements of universal significance, and provide the world with a new perspective on mutual learning between civilizations.

The youth communication ecology has undergone profound changes. As an "indigenous" online, Generation Z has become a key audience for international communication and has a strong preference for visual and interactive content. It is difficult for traditional communication models to effectively reach this group. We must innovate communication strategies, use micro-narratives and new expressions to create concrete and emotional communication content, and enhance the communication effect of Chinese stories among young people.

Technological changes bring new opportunities and challenges. New technologies such as generative artificial intelligence are reshaping the global media ecosystem. Technologies such as big data analysis, intelligent algorithm recommendation, and AI content generation have become new qualitative productivity for international communication. Although AIGC (artificial intelligence generated content) applications are associated with risks such as information authenticity and algorithm bias, it has shown great potential in improving content production efficiency and crossing cultural gaps.

China News Service’s innovative practice of building an international communication discourse system

The "China-New Style" that integrates China and foreign countries, telling the world the real China

China News Service has always adhered to the "China-New China style" of "man-talk about people, Chinese-speaking, long-short talk, and empty-speaking", and has become an important window for the international community to perceive China and has made unremitting efforts to show a credible, lovely and respectable image of China.

Storytelling of thought: Telling "Chinese principles" into the heart of the world

China News Service will explain Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its core task and continuously innovate narrative expression methods. Relying on brand columns such as "Looking at China in a Close View" and "Xi Yandao", we will transform important concepts into vivid stories. The report focuses on concise core expressions and conveys the core of thought in concise language. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, a special plan for "Jointly Protecting the Treasure of Human Culture" was launched, using micro-videos to tell moving stories of Sino-foreign joint archaeology and civilization mutual learning, vividly demonstrating the concept of co-construction, sharing, and win-win cooperation.

Cultural empathy: conveying Chinese warmth in details

The "China-New Style" is based on rationality and humanities, focusing on the integration of emotion and reason and moving things. The "East-East Question" column actively expands the communication space of "emotional resonance" and "cognitive commonality", and explores discourse methods that are both sticking to the Chinese standpoint and are easily accepted by overseas audiences. For example, starting from details such as "Why did the Chinese leader deliver a congratulatory message on New Year's Day", we explain the historical choice of New China to adopt the Gregorian calendar and integrate into the international system, show the image of an open and inclusive country, reason in expressing feelings, and increase trust in solving doubts.

Q&A Interactive: Respond to world concerns with "why"

China News Service closely follows the core concept of "only by understanding the Communist Party of China can we understand China", and shapes a respectable image of China by showing the vivid practice of the Party's pursuit of happiness for the people. Innovatively use the "question mark narrative" model to face the concerns of overseas audiences. For example, the "Q&A 20" series of short videos through the real questions of "crowdfunding" of overseas Chinese media, focusing on overseas topics such as "Why is the top leader of the Communist Party of China called the secretary", to achieve the closed-loop dissemination of "question-response" and effectively enhance the understanding and recognition of the international community.

"News " trinity comprehensively improves international communication efficiency

As an important force in international communication, China News Service strives to build a communication system that integrates "news, culture, and connections". By deepening cultural identity, expanding networks and strengthening characteristic advantages, it systematically improves the comprehensive efficiency and far-reaching influence of international communication.

"News Culture": Building a solid foundation for civilized discourse

China News Service closely focuses on the strategic requirements of enhancing the influence of Chinese civilization's communication power, and takes brands such as "East-West Questions" as a fulcrum to continuously promote the construction of civilized discourse. When explaining "the outstanding continuity of Chinese civilization", we focus on the historical context of "great unification", quote ancient books and clearly interpret the millennium consensus that "the country cannot be divided, the country cannot be chaotic, the nation cannot be dispersed, and civilization cannot be broken", and help international audiences understand the fundamental significance of national unity for the inheritance of civilization.

"News Connections": Building a four-dimensional public opinion circle

China News Service has innovatively built a four-dimensional international public opinion circle covering the collaboration between Chinese and Chinese people, overseas Chinese, Generation Z and think tanks. Relying on the in-depth interview column of "China-Foreign Dialogue" and the foreign language version of "China News Weekly", we have in-depth exchanges with world-renowned Chinese and Chinese people. The single program often achieves the dissemination of tens of millions, effectively promoting international opinion leaders to rationally express China's views. In terms of gathering overseas Chinese, we will create warm brands such as "Chinese Youth Theory" and strengthen emotional connection through cloud cultural feasts such as "Four Seas in the Same Series". For the Z generation group, we have carefully carried out humanistic immersion projects such as "Portrait China" and "SCO Little Reporter". At the same time, we will strengthen cooperation with the think tank collaborative layer, integrate platform resources such as "East-West Question Think Tank", and promote international scholars to release research results from a multilateral perspective, and continuously enrich the rational voices of the international public opinion field.

"News Features": Forging a special communication logo

China News Service has deeply explored the unique gene of "born because of overseas Chinese and prospered because of overseas Chinese" and continued to forge its unique communication advantages. On the one hand, to build a global Chinese media collaboration network, China News Service has established a content linkage innovation mechanism with more than 100 overseas Chinese media. On the other hand, focusing on activate the communication potential of people in the new social class, China News Service launched special documentaries such as "Our Ten Years", inviting 35 representative non-party members, including Lin Yifu and Cao Dewang, to reflect the national development history with their true and plain individual experiences, with the number of views of a single episode exceeding 15 million.

Smart media empowers discourse production and shapes a new ecology of global communication

Content innovation realizes full-domain communication on mobile terminals. Adhere to the strategy of "mobile-first and integrated development", build a matrix of more than 300 new media platforms covering more than 100 countries around the world, reaching more than 660 million users. Bilingual columns such as "East-East Questions·China-Foreign Dialogue" and "Decode Chinese Cultural Genes" have been launched to form a significant brand effect; commentary programs such as "New Comic Review" and "International Knowledge Bureau" have innovatively used virtual anchors, Vlogs and other forms to successfully "break the circle".

The global communication network connects sea and land channels. China News Service deeply aggregates Chinese media and central enterprises' resources to create a three-dimensional communication network that connects sea and land. During the third "Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum, we jointly launched a "Footprints·Silk Road 24 Hours" global live broadcast special program, through 31 points of cross-border relay live broadcast, presenting the 10-year cooperation results of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, with a total of over 500 million disseminations on the entire platform.

The practice of civil diplomacy dissolves cultural barriers. Implement the "Internet Public Diplomacy" model to trigger emotional resonance through cultural exchanges and dissolve cultural barriers. China News Service organized and reported the Beijing Football Dream Journey of Yushu Tibetan Children in Qinghai, driving domestic and foreign media to publish nearly 7,000 related content, attracting the Associated Press, Reuters and other media to actively reproduce, and the reading volume of nearly 1 billion on the entire platform has been nearly 1 billion, successfully realizing the widespread dissemination of niche stories to mainstream public opinion, demonstrating the warmth and infectiousness of Chinese stories.

Intelligent technology "activates" cultural dissemination. In 2023, China News Service established the "China News Service AI Laboratory" to actively explore the innovative application of generative artificial intelligence in cultural communication and policy interpretation. The "China in the Eye of AI" column has launched more than a hundred issues of digital cultural products, using technology to "revitalize" traditional culture. Works such as "Confucius's Travels" and "Why China | Zhu Xi's Super Time and Space Tea Party" have allowed ancient sages to "dialogue" with Western thinkers and explain the contemporary value of Chinese culture in the form of virtual dialogue, which has caused heated discussion on overseas social platforms.

A five-dimensional path to build an international communication discourse system

Building basic projects: accurately grasp the pulse of global public opinion. Establish a systematic and multi-dimensional public opinion monitoring and analysis mechanism, continue to track the media ecology, audience preferences and evolution of issues in key countries and regions, and scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of communication. We not only deeply grasp the narrative logic of mainstream Western media, but also attach importance to the information needs of emerging and developing countries. Seize the opportunity, emphasize strategies, and focus on effectiveness in major international events, and enhance the timeliness, pertinence and influence of Chinese discourse.

Crossing cognitive barriers: building a discourse system with cultural conventions. Deeply explain the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, connect China's development practice with the common values ​​of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, and enhance the international community's understanding and recognition of the Chinese path. In terms of narrative strategy, we take into account grand themes and individual experiences, and improve the sensitivity and credibility of the story through vivid cases and emotional narratives. Make good use of flexible carriers such as cultural symbols, historical traditions and artistic expression.

Reconstruct production and distribution logic: Strengthen technical empowerment. Actively use cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to realize intelligent generation, accurate push and personalized services of multilingual content, and improve the coverage, accuracy and user stickiness of communication. Focus on developing emerging forms such as short videos, data news, and interactive content to enhance the visual expressiveness and social communication of content.

Building a communication ecosystem: Promote diversified coordination and Sino-foreign cooperation. Strengthen the overall coordination of various domestic entities, link media, think tanks, universities, enterprises and cultural institutions, and form a communication network with rich levels and strong support. Special attention is paid to the role of "people" as a media, encourage overseas students, overseas Chinese and international friends to tell real and moving Chinese stories from their perspectives and experiences, and enhance the penetration of private communication. Expand in-depth cooperation with international mainstream media, think tanks and cultural institutions to the outside world, and expand the space for dissemination of Chinese discourse through joint programs, joint forums, cultural exchanges and other projects.

Strengthen core competitiveness: cultivate complex talents in international communication. Focus on cultivating a group of compound talents who are politically firm, professionally skilled, familiar with international rules, proficient in communication laws, and have cross-cultural communication skills, especially backbone forces who are good at multilingual communication, public opinion analysis and international public opinion response. Strengthen systematic training of existing talents and improve their political literacy, global vision, professional ability and innovative awareness. Improve talent evaluation and incentive mechanisms to create an innovative and inclusive development environment that can be used to make full use of talents.

Building an international communication discourse system that integrates China and abroad is a systematic project that requires based on Chinese practice and a global vision. Mainstream media should continue to innovate discourse and communication methods, and show the world a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China in a more accurate, vivid and effective way. The Party’s innovative theory is the “living water at the source” that builds the deepest “source” of the international communication discourse system in the new era. We should draw wisdom from it and build a bridge of understanding and resonance with vivid Chinese stories.

(The author Hu Zhengrong is the director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, dean and professor of the School of Journalism and Communication, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Zhang Shuai is a doctoral student in the 2024 class of the "Marxist Theory Backbone Talent Program" of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Wu Xu is the deputy director of the International Communication Department of China News Agency)

The original article was published in "News Front" in September 2025 (Part 2), and this article is an excerpt.