GUANGZHOU: The 5th World Media Summit started on Sunday in the Guangdong Province of China, with over 450 participants from 101 nations and representatives from nearly 197 mainstream media outlets, government agencies, think tanks, as well as international organizations.
Fu Hua, the President of Xinhua News Agency, said while inaugurating the gathering that the theme of the conference is “Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development.”
He said that the summit will address topics including bolstering media confidence, exploring new markets in the digital age, coping with opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies, and striving for a shared future in international media cooperation and news exchanges among the world’s media organizations.
Fu said that the international media industry is undergoing a remarkable transformation due to factors such as technological innovation that is reshaping the journalism industry and the spread of fake news that is challenging journalistic ethics.
He proposed starting a high-level dialogue and cooperation mechanism within the framework of the World Media Summit. Fu said that by engaging in such dialogues, we can inspire one another and promote mutual development.
Critical Role of Media in International Relations
He said that media leaders need to work for shared prosperity, advocacy for human development, and a bright future for mankind. The media’s role is significant in building strong bonds between countries through dialogue and intercultural communication.
The forum discusses media cooperation to tackle important challenges facing media in times of technological change and how to counter disinformation and fake news.
The heads of major news agencies, including Reuters Head of Agency Sue Brooks, Vice President of the Associated Press YK Chan, and Michael Mainville, member of the Agence France-Presse Executive Committee, and AFP Asia-Pacific regional director and Managing Director (MD) of APP Muhammad Asim Khichi, are attending the summit.
The ongoing 5th summit hosted by Xinhua will continue from December 2 to 8 in China’s Guangzhou city of Guangdong Province and Kunming city of Yunnan Province.
